The New England Patriots played spoiler in front of thousands of Cincinnati Bengals fans at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.
It was supposed to be quarterback Joe Burrow’s triumphant return and an easy Week 1 road block on a likely playoff return for the Bengals. But Jerod Mayo and the Patriots had other plans.
The defense was lights out for New England. In one game, defensive end Keion White went from breakout hopeful to looking like the best defensive player on the team. The former Georgia Tech standout was a wrecking machine on the field with four tackles and 2.5 sacks. He lined up all over the defensive front and proved to be a thorn in the side of Burrow and company throughout the game.
Without Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon, who were the Patriots’ two best defensive players last season, the unit dominated and held the Bengals’ high-flying offense to only 10 points and 224 total yards.
It was an absolute masterclass by newly-hired head coach Jerod Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots did what they couldn’t do last season. They dominated on the ground with a sensational effort from running back Rhamondre Stevenson and avoided costly turnovers.
The team also forced two turnovers with long-snapper Joe Cardona causing a fumble on special teams and Kyle Dugger negating a touchdown with a forced fumble before the half.
There is no secret recipe for the winning sauce in New England. They’re going to lean on their defense, run the ball, avoid turnovers, create turnovers and win at the line of scrimmage. Wash, rinse and repeat.
It isn’t the prettiest brand of football, but it can prove effective for a team that only won four games last season. The fact that they were able to knock off a playoff contender in the opener is an impressive feat.
It also shows that the 2024 season might not be as daunting as some expected.
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