Much has been made about the New England Patriots' favorable schedule during the 2025 NFL season. While statistically, that may be true to an extent, the Patriots can only play the teams in front of them, and they have a handful of marquee victories as well.
In Week 12, the team is slated to face a sneaky-good Cincinnati Bengals team, whose offense can keep them in any game. However, in Week 11, Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase had a bit of a scuffle with Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey.
The result of that scuffle was Chase being suspended for one week, meaning he won't suit up against the Patriots this Sunday. While that was a major break for New England's defense to catch, it seemed like Cincinnati was getting a major reinforcement with Joe Burrow stepping back in under center.
Bengals star QB Joe Burrow won't play vs. Patriots in Week 12
Burrow, after getting hurt partway through the Bengals' Week 2 matchup, was not expected to return this season. Then, reports started piling in about his potential return by Thanksgiving. The heat was turned up even more when it started to look like he was going to play as soon as Week 12.
However, those plans fell flat. On Saturday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Burrow will not return for Sunday's matchup against the Patriots, and veteran Joe Flacco will start for Cincinnati instead. This is another major break for the New England defense, and they didn't really work for it.
Flacco is still a respectable veteran in this league, but he's no Burrow. When healthy, Burrow is an MVP-level player and an incredible difference-maker, with or without Chase on the field. Without him and Chase, however, the Bengals' offense will be in much worse shape.
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To make matters more favorable for Mike Vrabel and Co., Burrow was taking first-team reps at practice this week, which means that Burrow's not playing may throw the team for a loop, or at least off its rhythm.
While Flacco has been getting first-team reps since he was acquired by the Bengals mid-season, things may not be as sharp for Cincinnati as they would have hoped. With Christian Gonzalez covering Tee Higgins, and the Patriots having the No. 1 run defense in the NFL, it could be ugly for the Bengals.
Winning their ninth-straight game would be massive for New England, as it would only widen their lead in the AFC East and keep them in the running for the conference's top overall seed. Cincinnati not having Burrow or Chase paves an even clearer lane to victory than before.