W2W4: New England Patriots (4-1) vs Cincinnati Bengals (2-3)
By Hal Bent
SUMMARY AND SCORE PREDICTION:
Cincinnati has won against the Patriots just once since 2001 and just twice in ten games dating back to 1993. Their last win against the Patriots was in Cincinnati in 2013. That was a low-scoring affair where the Bengals edged the Patriots 13-6. That game saw Brady throw for less than 200 yards and complete less than 50% of his passes. The game ended with Brady throwing an interception with less than 30 seconds to play.
In that game Michael Hoomanawanui was at tight end (Rob Gronkowski was injured) and Julian Edelman was held to just two receptions (or the same number as Aaron Dobson). The biggest difference was that current Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer was the defensive coordinator. Without Zimmer, the Bengals have been unable to reach the level of success on defense they had with him.
This is a game where the Bengals are going to be hungry to win. At 2-3 a loss could end their chances of winning the AFC North with Pittsburgh already running away with the division. However, the Bengals will have to face Tom Brady in Foxboro. Brady is coming off a huge performance against Cleveland last week and will be looking to make a statement in his first home game of the season.
This is stop number two of the Tom Brady Revenge Tour against the rest of the NFL. Sorry, Cincinnati, it is going to be hard to stop Brady in the electric atmosphere of his first home game of the season.