Now that is how you win a football game! The Patriots got touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams, and dominated the Bengals to the tune of 38-24, though the game probably wasn't that close. They owned the first half and came up with plenty of plays in the second half to salt away the victory. The win ties them with the Dolphins for first place in the AFC East, with the Jets game pending Monday night.
In the first half, the Patriots offense scored two touchdowns, and got three field goal attempts in five possessions, while the defense forced three punts, recovered a fumble, and returned an interception for a touchdown on the first five Bengals possessions. The Bengals temporarily turned it around in the third quarter, but the Pats offense constructed a long touchdown drive in the final quarter to put the game out of reach.
On offense, the running game employed a real team effort, with Fred Taylor getting the bulk of the carries (14 carries for 71 yard), while Kevin Faulk and BenJarvus Green-Ellis pitched in with timely gains and Sammy Morris had only one carry, but for an important third down conversion. And both Faulk and Taylor had key blitz pickups to keep plays alive. A 5.1 yard per carry average is nothing to sneeze at, and that number forced the Bengals to respect the run, which can only help open up the passing game.
Brady reverted to his 2007 MVP form; 25 of 35 for 258 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Also bear in mind that he built those numbers despite several dropped passes and some penalties that called back passes. The O-line did an outstanding job keeping Brady upright, even in the face of 6-, 7-, and 8-man blitzes, with Brady completing passes to seven receivers and only once putting the ball at risk of a turnover. His only transgressions were a couple of passes off the mark; but that's to be expected this early in the campaign.
Wes Welker caught 8 for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns... in a debut coming back from a major knee injury. He isn't as quick off the line or out of his breaks yet, but he is still plenty effective at keeping drives alive with sure hands and a knack for the first down marker. Randy Moss dropped one pass and bobbled another along the sideline. But his effect on the defense was evident when he cleared out the left side of the Bengals secondary, leaving rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez wide open for a 45 yard gain.
On defense, the young secondary acquitted itself quite well, thank you very much. Pat Chung played easily his best game as a pro, with 16 combined tackles, several that stopped third down plays and forced punts. The other revelation was Darius Butler, who showed outstanding instincts in guessing correctly and stuffing several plays; he also contributed 8 tackles of his own. First rounder Devin McCourty knocked away the first pass to Terrell Owens, and did not appear confused on a single play.
The linebackers started Rob Ninkovich, which was a surprise. He did okay holding the point in the running game, and forced a fumble, which he recovered. Jerod Mayo starred for this unit, notching 12 tackles and doing a nice job in pass coverage. Brandon Spikes didn't get embarrassed; he remains a half-step behind some plays, but that should improve as he plays more. And I can't forget to mention Gary Guyton's INT return for a touchdown -- a beautiful undercut of the route and dash down the sideline.
Aside from the receiver play, the D-line is the most interesting facet of the team right now. The rotation obviously isn't set, with players seeming to enter and leave the game at random. Sometimes they went with one D-lineman, sometimes only one had a hand on the ground and the others shifted around pre-snap. And for the most part the mix worked well.. As expected Mike Wright gets more pressure on the QB than Ty Warren did; but his side was run on frequently. None of the young linemen did anything outstanding or tragic. And given the bad performances some of them had last year and in the pre-season, that counts as improvement.
The D-line will be a work in progress, but one thing is crystal clear from this game. Bill Belichick trusts his secondary enough to call man-to-man coverage and start blitzing again. It's been a while since the team consistently used blitzes to overload one side of the offense or brought defensive backs from unexpected angles. But if this game is any indication, you will see a lot of that this year.
Special teams produced the most inconsistent results of the day. Brandon Tate electrified the crowd with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and the kick coverage teams did a great job all day, starting with a swarming tackle on the opening kick. But Stephen Gostkowski made only 1 of 3 field goal attempts, one of which was a 47 yarder that he has to be able to hit. So Gostkowski has some work to do; though the rest of the special teams should be proud of their performance.
The Patriots coaches clearly outperformed their counterparts on the other side. They took full advantage of the new offensive weapons and improved speed on defense, whereas the Bengals failed to utilize their new receiving corps to their fullest potential. However, the Patriots failed at halftime adjustments, much like last year. They gave up two long touchdown drives before coming up with something to slow down the Bengals, and their only drive during that time was a 3-and-out. That is only good enough when you have a four-score lead -- it can't continue against the likes of Baltimore or Indianapolis... those teams will make the Patriots pay.
So where does that leave us? 1-0 and flying high for the moment. The Jets play tonight, and the Patriots play them in New York next Sunday, which is a key early matchup in the division. But for now, rest easy and enjoy the win. The schedule is tough this year, so every victory must be savored :)
Statistical Oddity of the Week: For only the fourth time since Bill Belichick took over as head coach (161 regular season games), the Patriots scored at least one touchdown on offense, defense, and special teams. (Trivia question: can you name the last year they did that? Bonus, can you name the team? Double-bonus, can name any of the players who scored touchdowns that day? Answer below.)
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "People can doubt the secondary all they want. But they probably won't face a tougher wide receiver tandem all year, and they controlled Ochocinco and T.O. pretty well."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 1-0!
PPS. Trivia Answer:
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On December 5, 2004 against the Cleveland Browns, Corey Dillon, David Patten, and Kevin Faulk scored offensive touchdowns, Bethel Johnson returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and the immortal Randall Gay returned a fumble 41 yards for a touchdown.
Note: if you figured that one out, how about telling me the two other years/opponents/players involved in these types of games under Bill Belichick. Good luck! (I will post the answer later this week.)
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