7 Keys from Patriots loss to Bengals

The Patriots defense had no answers against the first two Bengals drives of the game, as Joe Burrow picked them apart scoring two touchdowns to give Cincinnati an early lead. Thanks to a missed extra point and a Patriots stop on a two-point conversion attempt, the score was 12-0 and not 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Burrow had 11 straight completions to start the game, while the Patriots ran just six offensive plays in the first quarter.

It was a bad sign right out of the gate when Burrow hit Tee Higgins over Marcus Jones for a 38-yarder on the Bengals’ second offensive play of the game. The second touchdown was a similar dart as Cincinnati hurried to the line and quickly fired a pass up the seam to receiver Trenton Irwin for an easy score. A later third-and-17 pass for 18 yards up the sideline to Jamarr Chase was another pinpoint throw by the quarterback as the Patriots battered cornerback group struggled to match up.

Meanwhile, the Patriots offense started cold with two-straight three-and-outs on their initial possessions of the game, showing no signs of life. It got even worse with Michael Palardy dropping the snap on his second punt, which set the Bengals up near midfield for their third possession.

Early on New England looked still shell-shocked from their loss in Vegas, offering little resistance on defense and unable to get anything going on offense.