New England Patriots: Staff Predictions Week Five vs Cincinnati Bengals

Hal Bent:

Sep 29, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib (31) celebrates an interception in the second half against the New Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Patriots won 30-23. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Winning two straight road games in back-to-back weeks is difficult…against two playoff teams, it is near impossible. However, that is the test the New England Patriots face this week as they travel to Cincinnati to face the 2-2 Bengals.  The Bengals must look at their season and realize they should be 4-0 instead of at .500. They threw away game one against the Bears, had a huge win against Green Bay, crushed division rivals Pittsburgh Steelers, then laid an egg against the surprising first place Cleveland Browns.

While leaning towards playing, the status of tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Danny Amendola will have a huge impact on whether the Patriots offense gets back to 2011/2012 levels or continues to be a young, inconsistent but growing better slowly offense. Expect Aqib Talib (“Believe in Talib!”) to find himself matched-up with Cincinnati’s star wide receiver A.J. Green one week after shutting down Julio Jones in Atlanta and stopping Vincent Jackson for Tampa Bay.

The real matchup to watch will be in the trenches: Cincinnati has a defensive line on par with the Detroit Lions, and everyone remembers what happened in preseason game three when the Lions defense gave the Patriots entire offense fits. While offensive tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer have been solid (along with all-pro guard Logan Mankins), the Patriots need a strong performance from center Ryan Wendell and right guard Dan Connolly. If those two can contribute in the run-blocking and keeping interior penetration at a minimum, the Patriots offense will have space to succeed.

Prediction: New England Patriots 34 – Cincinnati Bengals 17

I floated the match-up on Facebook as well to get some predictions, and here are a sampling of the feedback:

Robert Hyldburg Jr

Sep 29, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) makes a catch in the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Patriots won 30-23. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

(Bob is the author of THE definitive book on the New England Patriots, Total Patriots, and is featured each Sunday in the NFL Notes section of the Boston Sunday Herald Newspaper.):

Julian Edelman is the player of the game as he has 2 long punt returns and the Patriots force 3 turnovers.

Prediction: New England Patriots 27 – Cincinnati Bengals 13

Kevin Sullivan

(Sully is a co-founder of YouGabSports.com and a transplanted Bostonian who remains a huge Patriots–and Boston sports–fan.):

Brady and the receiver corps finally hit on all cylinders.

Prediction: New England Patriots 34 – Cincinnati Bengals 17

Donald Lawrence

(from NFL Talk Facebook group):

Because Brady is the man!

Prediction: New England Patriots 27 – Cincinnati Bengals 7

OK, that’s the way we see the game ending up here at MusketFire.com. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, on the MusketFire Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/MusketFireNE), or on Twitter (@Musket_Fire) who you think will win the game Sunday afternoon and why. We love your feedback, as you the reader are the reason we write and share our thoughts, opinions, analysis, commentary, and news on all things New England Patriots here at MusketFire. Remember to check back here for all the analysis and commentary before, during, and after the Patriots-Bengals game.