Strength vs. strength

Joe Mixon has been on fire lately, scoring a touchdown in three of his last four games. He’s on his way to a 1,000-yard season, which is downright incredible given how it started. The Bengals clearly want to center the offense around him if possible. One problem — the Patriots have a spectacular defense this year, which includes ranking fourth against the run while only permitting an average of 93 rushing yards per game. The unit as a whole allows 12.9 points per game. It’s going to take Mixon’s top performance of the year to overcome the Patriots.