Cincinnati Bengals vs New England Patriots: 3 Key Matchups To Watch

The Bengals host the Patriots on Sunday afternoon.

Mike Santagata | Sep 8, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30), wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (80) and wide receiver Charlie Jones (15) walk to the practice field, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. / Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Cincinnati Bengals

Regular season NFL football is back and the Cincinnati Bengals start their season off in Paycor Stadium against the New England Patriots on Sunday. The Bengals open up the season as the largest favorites in the league at -7.5.

Here are three matchups that could determine the outcome of Sunday's game:

The Patriots Rushing Attack vs The Bengals Front 7

The main way that the Patriots can win this game is by dragging the Bengals into the mud and turning this into a rock fight. If they can control the clock, run effectively, and get some timely turnovers or defensive stops, then they can win the game. They have a good running back in Rhamondre Stevenson who has averaged 4.5 yards per carry over his career. The Bengals on the other hand were one of the worst run defenses in the league last season and just lost their best run defender.

The key for the Patriots to have an effective ground attack is going to be if their offensive line steps up and plays above expectations. Outside of long time starting center David Andrews and the recently paid right tackle Michael Onwenu, the Patriots offensive line looks pretty paltry on paper. Vederian Lowe (questionable), 4th round rookie Layden Robinson, and either Nick Leverett or former Bengal Michael Jordan make up the other three spots. It’s not a group that the Patriots want in true drop back passing situations more than a dozen times in a game.

Lowe will face Trey Hendrickson for most of the game and I would assume there will be plenty of help coming his way. If Lowe is getting the help then that leaves the guard tandem of Leverett/Jordan and Robinson to face off against BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins. If Hill and Rankins wreck that match up, then it’s hard to picture how the Patriots win this game. If Leverett/Jordan and Robinson are able to generate some movement on the ground, then they can keep this Patriots team competitive.

The Bengals Wide Receivers vs The Patriots Defensive Backs

The last time these two teams played, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase combined for 16 catches and 207 yards. Quite a few of those were the Bengals dynamic duo just being bigger, stronger, and better than their competition. Trenton Irwin even chipped in with three catches for 45 yards and a pair of touchdowns. However, in this game they will be without Higgins. The 25-year-old had eight receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown. The Bengals will need to rely on second year camp standout Andrei Iosivas to fill the big void that Higgins leaves.

Most of the Patriots defensive backs are the same in this matchup. It’s still Marcus Jones in the slot, Jonathan Jones as one of the outside corners, and Kyle Dugger is still the moving chess piece at safety. There are two new starters for this matchup though. Safety Jabrill Peppers and corner Christian Gonzalez. Peppers is a long tenured veteran at this point who the Bengals have seen plenty over the course of his career. In fact, Peppers was on the Patriots and played 26 snaps against the Bengals in their last game. He was the third safety behind Devin McCourty and Dugger. He was placed on the injury report with a hip injury and is listed as questionable.

Gonzalez is a very talented young cornerback that played very well in his rookie year before suffering a torn labrum. Gonzalez was the best corner in the draft for quite a few analysts (me included) even though he went off the board as the third corner taken. He’s a buttery smooth mover with good size and length. He’s got a heck of a match up with Chase in this game though. There is quite a bit riding on whether he can keep up with him or if the Bengals number one target will be too much to handle for the young corner.

Trent Brown and Orlando Brown Jr. vs Josh Uche

This matchup is dependent on whether Josh Uche will play as he is listed as questionable.

These two offensive tackles and Uche could not look more different on the field. Trent Brown towers over Uche with an extra 7 inches of height and 140 pounds of mass. Orlando Brown Jr. comes in at the same height as (Trent) Brown and is still over 100 pounds heavier than Uche.

Uche possesses surprisingly long arms at 33⅝ inches, however Brown’s arm length is a staggering 36 inches, which is up there for the longest arms ever measures at the NFL combine. Brown Jr. has 35 inch arms as well which should help him in this match up. Uche and the Bengals offensive tackles are diametrically opposed forces on the football field. The small pass rushing specialist against the ginormous offensive tackle.

Despite the size difference, do not underestimate Uche. He’s the best pass rusher that the Patriots have and has had his share of wins against even the best the NFL has to offer. He had a bit of a down year last season where he only came away with three sacks but in the year prior, he accumulated 11.5 sacks in only 374 snaps.

His speed and lateral agility can cause problems for some offensive tackles as he is one of the best in the league at crossing an offensive lineman’s face. The Bengals tackle duo needs to hold up against Uche to attack down the field with their weapons. While guys like Keion White, Anfernee Jennings, and Deatrich Wise Jr. may all contribute, Uche is the guy to worry about most on 3rd-and-long.

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