New England is entering a new era after 24 seasons with Bill Belichick as its head coach
After a “Long Cold Winter” — a great Cinderella album — and a sweltering hot summer, we have finally made it. We are on the doorstep of the 2024 Bengals season getting underway on Sunday against the New England Patriots.
It’s one of the most anticipated seasons in Bengals franchise history and arguably the most important season in team history. The Bengals have a lot of momentum on a lot of fronts right now, but that makes meeting expectations more paramount this season. They need to keep that momentum going and prove that they are perennial Super Bowl contenders.
The Bengals opening with the New England Patriots this Sunday is a lot different than opening against an AFC North team like the Bengals did the last two seasons. Still, though, the Patriots could test the Bengals and help them prepare for tougher challenges this season.
Every week, I’ll list my players to watch on each of the Bengals’ opponents. This week, we’re looking at 13 Players to Watch against the Patriots.
Head Coach: Jerod Mayo, 38 years old, is in his first season as the Patriots head coach, but he’s been with the Patriots for a long time. Before being the Inside Linebackers Coach for the last five seasons, Mayo was a Patriots linebacker for eight seasons from 2008-2015. A member of the Patriots Super Bowl XLIX winning team, Mayo was a two-time Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro in 2010.
Offensive Coordinator: Alex Van Pelt, 54 years old, comes to New England after spending four seasons as the Browns Offensive Coordinator. He’s familiar to Bengals fans, having served as the Bengals Quarterbacks Coach from 2018-2019. Van Pelt coached Baker Mayfield and Deshaun Watson in Cleveland while also guiding an injury-depleted offense to the playoffs last year with five different starting quarterbacks. Cleveland was his second stint as an offensive coordinator, having been the Bills Offensive Coordinator in 2009,
Defensive Coordinator: DeMarcus Covington, 35 years old, was promoted to Defensive Coordinator from the Patriots Defensive Line Coach the previous four seasons. The Patriots’ defense ranked in the top quarter of the NFL in several statistical categories in 2023, and their defensive line returns key faces in Davon Godchaux, Joshua Uche, and Deatrich Wise Jr. Covington has been with the Patriots for seven seasons and was on their coaching staff when New England won Super Bowl LIII.
Quarterback: Jacoby Brissett is entering his ninth season in the NFL, and he has carved out a solid career. He was the Colts starting quarterback in 2017 and 2019, throwing for over 3,000 yards in 2017 and keeping them afloat in 2019 in the wake of Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement.
Brissett was drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 2016 Draft, where he played in three games and started two of them. Since then, he has played for the Colts, Dolphins, Browns and Commanders. His last start against the Bengals came in Week 8 of the 2022 season when he carved up the Bengal’s defense on Monday Night Football for 278 yards.
He beat out No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye to win the starting job going into Week 1 this season. It may only be a matter of time before Maye becomes the starter, but the Bengals will see Brissett in Week 1 on Sunday.
1) Christian Gonzalez, Cornerback: Gonzalez was drafted 17th overall, out of Oregon, by the Patriots in 2023. Before a season-ending injury after just four games, Gonzalez was showing a lot of promise. In the four games he played and started, Gonzalez had an interception and three passes defended. In addition, he had a sack and 17 tackles, with a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. Gonzalez will likely be covering Ja’Marr Chase on Sunday, assuming Chase plays, and that will be an interesting matchup to watch unfold. Gonzalez is still inexperienced, and facing Chase is a tough matchup coming back from injury.
2) Davon Godchaux, Defensive Tackle: Godchaux is going into his eighth season in the NFL and fourth with the Patriots. Godchaux has played and started all 17 games in each of the last two seasons, and he had 56 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a quarterback hit in 2023.
3) Marcus Jones, Cornerback: Jones has a pick-six of Joe Burrow in the last game played between the Bengals and Patriots on Christmas Eve in 2022. That was part of a rookie season where Jones was a First-Team All-Pro. Jones is also a kick returner, winning a game with an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 11 of the 2022 Season against the Jets. He only played in two games last year due to injury, but he is definitely worth watching.
4) Jonathan Jones, Cornerback: Jonathan Jones is going into his ninth season with the Patriots and third as a full-time starting cornerback. Jones has 18 passes defended over the last two seasons and had four interceptions in 2022.
5) Kyle Dugger, Safety: Noticing a theme here? A lot of the players to watch on the Patriots are on defense. Dugger played and started all 17 games in 2023 and had two interceptions and seven passes defended. In addition, Dugger had 1.5 sacks and 109 total tackles, with six tackles for loss and five quarterback hits.
6) Joshua Uche, Outside Linebacker: Uche is listed as a second-stringer on the Patriots depth chart, but he’s a very important player to watch on Sunday. He is only two seasons removed from having 11.5 sacks. If he sees extended snaps on Sunday, he could be an impact player. He’s also questionable about playing due to a foot injury.
7) Deatrich Wise Jr., Defensive End: In seven seasons, Wise has four seasons with at least 4.5 sacks. He had 4.5 sacks in 16 games and 13 starts in 2023. In addition, he has at least one forced fumble in four of his first seven seasons.
8) Rhamondre Stevenson, Running Back: Our first offensive player is maybe the Patriots’ best on that side of the ball. Stevenson signed a four-year, $36 million contract extension this offseason after a solid first three seasons of his career. Stevenson rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2022 and has 14 touchdowns in his first three seasons. Stevenson is also a threat out of the backfield, with 121 catches over his first three seasons. He had 619 rushing yards, 238 receiving yards, and four touchdowns in 2023.
9) Hunter Henry, Tight End: Henry is entering his fourth season with the Patriots and ninth in the NFL. He has 17 touchdowns in his previous three seasons with the Patriots and 38 in his career. He had 42 receptions for 409 yards and six touchdowns in 2023.
10) K.J. Osborn, Wide Receiver: Osborn comes to New England after spending the first four seasons of his career in Minnesota. He has 1,845 yards and 15 touchdowns through the first three seasons.
11) David Andrews, Center: Andrews has been with the Patriots since 2016 and has been one of the stalwarts of the Patriots offensive line. He has played in 120 games and started 117 games in his career.
12) Mike Onwenu, Right Tackle: Onwenu is entering his fifth season with the Patriots with 64 games played and 56 starts.
13) DeMario Douglas, Wide Receiver: Douglas is still searching for his first career touchdown after not catching one during his rookie season. In 14 games and seven starts in 2023, Douglas had 49 catches for 561 yards.
Special Teams Coach: Jeremy Springer, 35, is in his first season with the Patriots. He comes to New England after spending the first two seasons as the Assistant Special Teams Coach. He’ll try to help turn around a Patriots special teams unit that converted just 64% of its field goals in 2023. That’s the lowest rate for a team with 20+ attempts since the 2012 Packers.
Kicker: Joey Slye is going into his sixth season with his fifth team. He was 19-of-24 on field goals in 2023 with the Commanders with a long of 61 yards, and he was also 32-of-35 on extra points.
Punter: Bryce Baringer is going into his second season after being a sixth-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2023. He averaged 46.9 yards per punt on 98 attempts with 38 inside the 20 and only eight touchbacks. His longest punt was 79 yards.
Long Snapper: Joe Cardona
Kick Returner and Punt Returner: Marcus Jones
Game Plan to Victory
1) Protect. The. Franchise. This goes without saying. No. 9 needs to be protected and kept clean, or mostly clean, on Sunday afternoon.
2) Stop the run. The Patriots’ offense can only succeed by running the ball. If they can’t run the ball, the Bengals’ pass rush will turn up its intensity, and the secondary will also be able to make some plays.
3) Convert in the red zone. For as good as Evan McPherson is, the Bengals need to convert inside the 20-yard line. With all the weapons Joe Burrow has, the Bengals must covert red-zone trips into touchdowns as often as possible.
4) Get off to a fast start. This not only goes for the season but also for this game. Getting off to a fast start will send a message to New England that they have no chance of winning this game. The Jungle will be roaring on Sunday in all orange. Starting fast will only make it louder.
SCORE PREDICTION: Bengals 34 – Patriots 13
