The New England Patriots got a much-needed victory in Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
There are still glaring vulnerabilities throughout the unit, but they’ve done enough to clinch the playoffs and enter the final weeks of the season with an 11-3 record. New England’s scary-good secondary showed why they’re among the best in the league, and the offense did just enough against the Bengals to get the job done — this has been the recurring theme all season.
Needless to say, the Bengals are now 1-13 and this isn’t a victory to boast about. The Patriots will see the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 and the Miami Dolphins during the final week of the season. They’ll have to play much better than they have in the past few weeks, but this game against the Bengals was a solid start.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
Stephon Gilmore is New England’s MVP this season
The Patriots have a league-high 25 interceptions this season and Stephon Gilmore is responsible for six of them.
He is undoubtedly the NFL’s best cornerback right now and he continues to make a case for Defensive Player of the Year. He added on to that case against the Bengals after recording two interceptions — one resulting in a pick-six. Gilmore told reporters after the game that he should’ve had three, maybe four interceptions.
Gilmore leads New England’s secondary and he’s the reason that they feel so comfortable playing man defense. He has changed the dynamic of this team, and the Patriots will need his continued excellence if they want to make a deep playoff run.
Defense will have to carry the load in the postseason
Anyone who pays attentions to the Patriots this season knows that the defense is the identity of this year’s team.
There just isn’t enough time for Tom Brady and his offensive weapons to find the chemistry to become dominant. Frustration has surrounded the offensive unit, and it isn’t seeming to get better. Brady’s trust lies only with Julian Edelman and James White, while Mohamed Sanu and N’Keal Harry are beginning to find their place. This means that this overbearing defense will have to stay healthy and hungry in the postseason.
The Patriots are giving up the least amount of points per game this season and they’re in the top five in almost every major defensive category. They showcased that defense after recording four interceptions in the second half against the Bengals. Gilmore had two of them and J.C. Jackson snagged the other two.
If Brady and the offense can build decent chemistry over the next month, they could be poised to rely on the defense and make minimal mistakes during a playoff run.
N’Keal Harry’s stock continues to rise
The Patriots desperately need production from their first-round rookie receiver, and they’re starting to get it.
Harry’s development has had some ups and downs, considering the fact that he didn’t play his first game until Week 11. In his first four games, he recorded five receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown. Those aren’t the numbers that the Patriots expected, but he needs time to gel with Brady and find his way back from an ankle injury.
He began to find that rhythm against the Bengals after recording two catches for 15 yards and a touchdown — along with two rushes for 22 yards. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said that he’d get the rookie more involved, and he kept that promise. Harry looks more comfortable in the NFL and he has two more regular season games to find that chemistry.
Run defense will be an issue
The only area that of this defense that shows significant flaws at times is the rush defense.
New England’s secondary is the best in the league right now and the linebackers have excellent coverage skills. They’re able to get coverage sacks because of the lockdown secondary and getting to the quarterback in general hasn’t been an issue this season. The Cleveland Browns exposed the only hole that this defense has, and teams have caught on to this trend.
Cincinnati came out with an explosive rushing attack and it helped them gain momentum to start the game. Joe Mixon had 25 carries for 136 yards and the offense in total rushed for 164 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. The Bengals started passing while playing from behind in the second half and that’s when issues arose.
The Patriots will likely see the Baltimore Ravens again this season, and they’re having a historic season on the ground. Baltimore had 210 yards on the ground while playing the Patriots in Week 9 and that’s the key to beat this unit. Bill Belichick has little time to turn this trend around and combat the run, or the’ll have a short playoff stint.
Nick Folk is providing reliability at the kicker position
After all the uncertainty and instability at the kicking position, the Patriots may finally be able to worry about other aspects of the team.
New England’s had four kickers this season and it all began with Stephen Gostkowski’s injury early in the season. They finally found their guy in Nick Folk, but he missed a week after getting an emergency appendectomy. He quickly made a return to the field and had a solid performance against Cincinnati. The Patriots trusted him to kick two field goals from 40-plus yards, and he nailed both of them.
Folk is now 10-of-13 on field goals and he’s perfect on extra point attempts. The Patriots can finally breathe, while putting trust in a 12-year veteran that’s kicking 80 percent on field goals in his career. Barring injuries, the Patriots have their guy heading into the postseason.
