The New England Patriots will open their 2024 regular season on the road, and against a somewhat unfamiliar opponent. While they last squared off against the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2022 regular season, the two teams have met irregularly through the years.
As a result of both finishing in fourth place in their respective divisions last season, however, they are now on a collision course once again. On Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, they will meet at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium.
The Bengals, of course, have some big names on their roster — most prominently the Big 3 of quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. There are serious questions about the trio heading into their bout with the Patriots, though, with Chase announced as questionable and Higgins doubtful to play in the contest.
In case they are ready to play, they obviously are players to keep an eye on. They, and their quarterback, are far from the only ones in a Bengals uniform falling into that category.
RB Zack Moss: For the previous seven seasons, Joe Mixon was the main man in the Bengals’ backfield. The former second-round draft pick was a productive player for Cincinnati, but despite leading the team in scrimmage yards for each of the last three years (and five total) was traded to Houston during the offseason.
In light of Mixon’s departure, the Bengals’ run game will have a different look. While Chase Brown is also expected to see some action, the likely replacement as RB1 is free agency pickup Zack Moss.
A former member of the Buffalo Bills, who spent the last one-and-a-half seasons in Indianapolis, Moss entered free agency off a career performance: his 986 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns on 210 touches were the most he had ever put up in his four seasons in the league. The Bengals awarded him with a two-year, $8 million contract, and the top spot in their running back rotation.
WR Andrei Iosivas and WR Trenton Irwin: As noted above, Cincinnati is facing some wide receiver questions heading into Week 1. In case one or both of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are unable to go, the Bengals will likely turn to Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin as the next men up.
Iosivas, a sixth-round draft pick in 2023, is a big-bodied target on the perimeter. The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder caught only 15 passes for 116 yards as a rookie, but he ranked third on the team with four touchdowns, all of them from within the opposing 10-yard line. He would have entered Week 1 as the Bengals’ likely No. 3 wide receiver, but might instead serve as their first or second option on Sunday.
Irwin, meanwhile, has been with the team since 2019. Mostly serving as a rotational backup option, he does offer inside/outside versatility and at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds is another well-built player capable of winning contested catches.
LG Cordell Volson: Frankly, we could have also listed center Ted Karras and right guard Alex Cappa here and the message would still have been the same: Cincinnati’s starting interior offensive line consists entirely of serviceable players who are nowhere close to blue-chip status. For the Patriots, this creates some potential for disruption even with Christian Barmore out. The two players to watch in that regard are Keion White and Deatrich Wise Jr.
As for Volson, he was the least effective of the three starters in terms of pass protection in 2023. Per Pro Football Focus, he surrendered 38 quarterback pressures broken down into five sacks, six hits, and 27 hurries.
DT B.J. Hill and DT Sheldon Rankins: The Patriots have made their intentions clear that they want to play a ball-control game on the offensive side of the ball. This means that they will rely heavily on their running game to generate positive yards and keep the team in manageable down-and-distance situations.
Doing so on Sunday will depend on the offensive line’s ability to create movement against an interior D-line that has had its problems in 2023 and remains a question mark heading into 2024 as well. That is particularly true after the group lost arguably its best run defender, D.J. Reader, to free agency.
With Reader gone, the Bengals will use veteran B.J. Hill and offseason pickup Sheldon Rankins as their top options at defensive tackle. Just like the team’s interior offensive linemen, they are solid players but not necessarily of a Pro Bowl caliber — something that might play into New England’s hands in Week 1.
Obviously, the Patriots O-line has to deal with its fair share of uncertainty as well. That said, the group led by veteran center David Andrews did show some promise in the running game in preseason and faces a matchup that can very well be described as favorable.
ED Trey Hendrickson: The Bengals have a Big 3 on offense, and a Big 1 on defense: Trey Hendrickson is one of the most disruptive edge rushers in the entire NFL, and is coming off a season that saw him register 17.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
Combining length and speed with a varied set of pass rush moves, Hendrickson has proven himself a handful for left tackles around the league. Almost exclusively lining up in that spot — i.e. as the Bengals’ right-side end-of-line player — he will go up against either Chukwuma Okorafor or Vederian Lowe on Sunday; the former being more likely to fill the top spot in light of Lowe’s recent injury woes.
On paper, Hendrickson versus Okorafor is a sizable mismatch in the Bengals’ favor. The Patriots, who regularly were among the league leaders in leaving their tackles 1-on-1 in the past, need to find ways to keep their left tackle from vulnerable situations.
How will they do that? That remains to be seen, but it would not be a surprise if double teams, extra blockers staying in, or chips upon release are all part of the strategy.
LB Logan Wilson: A third-round draft pick in 2020, Wilson has developed into a legitimate playmaker at the second level of the Cincinnati defense. Last year, for example, Wilson did not just lead the team in tackles (135) but was also tied for the team lead in interceptions (4). Both of those numbers are a bit deceiving, though.
Fact is, after all, that the high interception total was partially the result of teams not being afraid to target him in coverage. His 77 charted targets were also tied for most on the Cincinnati defense in 2023.
Ball security is obviously paramount, especially for a team like the Patriots with a small margin for error to begin with. That said, Jacoby Brissett should not be afraid of testing Wilson if favorable matchups present themselves.
CB Dax Hill and CB Mike Hilton: Cam Taylor-Britt is the Bengals’ No. 1 cornerback and a solid player to hold down the fort on one side of the field. The other two spots in the starting lineup, meanwhile, are filled by Dax Hill and Mike Hilton — two players who are relative unknowns when it comes to matching up against New England’s wide receivers.
Hilton, a one-time Patriots practice squad member, is a solid slot cornerback who brings a physical edge to his position. That being said, his matchup against New England’s DeMario Douglas could become problematic for the 30-year-old: Douglas’ elite quickness and burst are a big challenge, and even a savvy veteran like Hilton may not be immune to being put in a blender on occasion.
Whereas Hilton offers considerable experience as a slot cornerback, Hill is relatively new to the outside CB position. The 2022 first-round draft pick made the move from safety to cornerback this offseason — a reverse Devin McCourty, if you will — after failing to properly replace Jessie Bates in his original position. How Hill will fare at cornerback in a regular season setting remains to be seen, and might prompt the Patriots to target him early on to see if there is potential for positive plays.
We are 100% Trusted.
We are available on the following Websites.