Patriots Over Come Slow Start to Beat Cincinnati 35-17 at Gillette Stadium
Monday, October 17, 2016
Tom Brady played his first home game since returning from suspension and led the New England Patriots to a 35-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
"I was glad we could do a a lot better there in the second half, finish the game strong, we got off to a little bit of a slow start, but finished the game with 35 points so that was pretty good," said Brady after the game.
Brady finished the game completing 29 of 35 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns. He now has six touchdown passes in two games.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Patriots move to 5-1 on the season, while the Bengals drop to 2-4.
Patriots Offense Rolls in Second Half
Trailing 14-12 after linebacker Dont’a Hightower forced a safety, the Patriots offense went on a five play 68 yard drive ending with Brady connecting with tight end Rob Gronkowski on a four yard touchdown pass to put New England up 19-14 with five minutes left in the third quarter. The touchdown was Gronkowski's first of the season.
After the Patriots defense forced a three and out, the Patriots offense continued to roll.
Brady hit Gronkowski for a 38 yard pass down the right side getting New England to the Bengals 15 yard line. On the next play Brady hit fellow tight end Martellus Bennett over the middle for an 11 yard pick up before capping the drive with a four yard touchdown pass to running back James White to give the Patriots a 25-14 lead. The touchdown would be White’s second of the game.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski would miss the extra point.
The Bengals would kick a field goal early in the fourth quarter to get within eight, but Gostkowski would seal the game with a 31 yard field goal with six minutes left to give the Patriots a 28-17 lead.
Patriots Grab Half Time Lead After Slow Start
The Patriots offense took the ball trailing 7-3 with 3:10 to play in the half, but like much of the first half, it did not start good.
On first down, Brady’s pass over the middle was incomplete and on second down he was sacked for a loss of eight yards. Brady was sacked twice in the first half.
It all changed on a third and 18 when the Bengals were called for illegal contact, giving New England an automatic first down.
Six plays later, Brady hit White for a 15 yard touchdown pass to give the Patriots a 10-7 lead.
Prior to that, the Cincinnati Bengals took their first lead of the game with 3:15 left in the first half when quarterback Andy Dalton ran it into the end zone from two yards out putting the Bengals up 7-3 after a Mike Nugent extra point was good.
Dalton completed 13 of 16 passes for 143 yards in the first half.
Second Half Chippiness
The game got chippy in the second half after Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict went low on Bennett.
A couple of plays later, on a first and ten from the Cincinnati 20 yard line, Burfict attempted another hit on Gronkowski but missed. After Gronkowski picked up 12 yards on the play he went back at Burfict, taunting him. Gronkowski was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play and the Patriots were moved back 15 yards.
"It was on the other side of the field so I didn't really see what happen there, but bottom line, we need fewer of those," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick after the game.
Gronkowski came off the field following the play and had a brief conversation with Belichick.
Running back LeGarrette Blount also got into the action.
After scoring a touchdown on a fourth and one with 57 seconds left, pushing and shoving ensued and Blount was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Cause for Concern
With the missed extra point on Sunday, Gostkowski has now missed three field goals and an extra point this season.
He has missed a total of six kicks going back to last season's playoffs.
His field goal to give the Patriots the 28-17 lead squeaked just inside the left post.
The Patriots signed Gostkowski to a four year deal prior to the 2015 season.
The Stats
Gronkowski caught seven passes for a career high 162 yards and a touchdown, while Bennett hauled in five catches for 48 yards.
White had eight catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
Next up
The Patriots return to action on Sunday, October 23 when they visit the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m.
Following that game, the Patriots will visit the Buffalo Bills who defeated the San Francisco 49ers 45-16 on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. If both the Patriots and the Bills win their respective games next week, the game in two weeks would be for first place in the AFC East.
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The New England Patriots have won their fourth Super Bowl in the Brady/Belichick Era by defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28 - 24 in Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona. With that win, the Patriots have now put themselves in the conversation as being the greatest team ever in NFL history.
Here are ten reasons why they are in fact the greatest team.
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