The New England Patriots did it again on Thursday Night Football against their archrival, the New York Jets, extending their win streak to eight games. While it was not the prettiest game, the Patriots got the job done, tackling their division opponents by a score of 27-14. The Thursday Night Football matchup featured more of the same for both teams. For the Patriots, it was a heavy reliance on Drake Maye and the defense’s strong run stopping ability, while the Jets focused on the run game and getting the most they can with Justin Fields’ limited arm talent.
Maye didn’t light up the stat sheet, but he had a more than capable display that resulted in a 74% completion rate for 281 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown pass came on a third down play where TreVeyon Henderson weaved through linebackers to get wide open in the back of the endzone, the first receiving touchdown of his career. It was one of three total touchdowns he had on the day, with the two others being a ground effort. In total, Henderson’s stats were somewhat underwhelming despite his effectiveness in the redzone: 19 carries for 62 yards averages to just 3.3 yards a carry. However, he did add five catches for 31 yards, which resulted in a total of 93 yards from 24 touches on the day for three touchdowns. While not the most consistent player, it’s hard to hate. D’Ernest Johnson took just three carries on the night, so it was Henderson’s backfield entirely.
In the receiving game, Stefon Diggs eclipsed 100 yards for the third time this season and for the first time since their matchup against the Bills in Week 5. Mack Hollins added four catches for 64 yards as he continues to produce in the absence of Kayshon Boutte. Hunter Henry and Pop Douglas each offered offensive boosts as well, and as mentioned, Henderson had five catches.
The defensive front was solid, holding Breece Hall to 58 yards on the ground. While Fields did find ways to make plays with his legs, his inability to pass the ball effectively made the New York offense easy to defend. Nonetheless, the Patriots will need to work on containing scrambling quarterbacks with Jaxson Dart, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson all coming up on the schedule. Two of four rushers to have 50+ yards against the defense this year are quarterbacks, and that is something the defense will need to limit to get the most out of their defensive efforts. Jack Gibbens continues to be a sound spot starter in place of the injured Christian Elliss, as he led the team in tackles next to Robert Spillane. Defensive tackle Eric Gregory saw action for the first time this year with injuries affecting both Milton Williams and Joshua Farmer and the UDFA held his own. Williams’ high ankle sprain has landed him on IR, and players like Gregory will be key in filling the void. Elijah Ponder, a UDFA defensive end, had his second consecutive game with a sack, so he’s made it clear his continued production will be necessary to make up for the loss of Williams, who became the highest paid Patriot of all time back in March.
All in all, the game against the Jets was as expected: choppy and physical, but never in any doubt. The Patriots will have a mini-bye of sorts with some extra time to rest and prepare before playing the Bengals on Sunday. While they’ve put up some impressive point totals this year, Sunday doesn’t seem like it will be so easy for the Ohio-based club.
Star wideout Ja’Marr Chase was suspended for the game after spitting on Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and thus the Patriots will not have to deal with the former LSU star. Instead, Christan Gonzalez can focus his effort on locking down Tee Higgins, who has seven touchdowns this year. Former first round pick and tight end Noah Fant will be asked to step up for the orange and black, while other wideouts will receive more targets in the absence of Chase. Fant has 30 catches for 256 yards and three touchdowns this year. Former Princeton standout Andrei Iosivas has the same yardage total on 19 catches and a touchdown. Preseason star Mitchell Tinsley and punt returner Charlie Jones will need to be contributors for the Bengals on Sunday, and Chase Brown will need to have a good day as a running back. He hasn’t eclipsed 100 rushing yards in a game in over a month.
The Bengals defense has been without Logan Wilson since his trade to Dallas, and their unit was better against the Steelers than it has been recently. Cincinnati allowed 20 against the black and yellow, with two defensive touchdowns from the Steelers extending their lead to an eventual 34-12 win. In the three games prior, the Bengals had allowed a whopping 39 points per game. In those games, they played the Steelers, Jets and Bears. None of those teams have a top-seven offense.
All in all, the Bengals without Brown aren’t a particularly scary team. While Brown and Higgins offer their own challenges, the Patriots’ elite run defense and Gonzalez shouldn’t have much issue keeping those issues to a minimum. While I’d expect the Bengals to throw the ball enough to put points on the board, I doubt the final score will be modest given their exceptionally poor defense: Patriots extend the win streak to nine and move to 10-2 on the year, winning 35-14.