The New England Patriots are coming off their most humiliating loss in many moons, having been thrashed, 41-14, by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Tom Brady was benched in the fourth quarter after throwing a pick-six, signaling major concern for a New England team that has not looked like a Bill Belichick-coached team. Now, the Patriots look to rebound against the Cincinnati Bengals, the lone undefeated AFC team.
Bengals vs. Patriots 2014 picks and predictions: Experts believe in Cincinnati
New England was embarrassed on Monday night, and the Pats now try to rebound in primetime against an undefeated team.
Peter Aiken
Cincinnati has been dominant in the early going and is coming off a bye week. The Bengals began the year with a nice road win over the Ravens before spanking the Falcons and Titans at home. No one facet of Cincinnati's game has been overly impressive, but it has been devastating as a unit. The offense relies on balance, ranking 11th in passing yards per game and 15th in rushing. Defensively, the Bengals rank 16th against the pass and run.
New England has yet to look impressive despite owning a 2-2 record and a share of the AFC East lead. The Patriots have beaten the Vikings and Raiders, two teams with a combined mark of 2-7. Brady has struggled mightily behind a leaky offensive line and poor weapons, completing 59.1 percent of his throws with five fumbles and a pair of interceptions.
Here at SB Nation, the seven-man panel has a split decision with the Bengals getting four of the votes. In the Patriots’ corner are Joel Thorman, David Fucillo and PFT Commenter, while Ryan Van Bibber, ex-NFL player Stephen White, Danny Kelly and Matt Ufford go with Cincinnati.
All that said, three of the five NFL.com experts believe the Patriots will bounce back and topple Cincinnati at Gillette Stadium. However, the eight men at CBS Sports all took the Bengals to make a statement in front of a national audience on the road, with everyone thinking they will cover the meager 1.5-point spread.
Over at ESPN.com, only Adam Schefter believes in Belichick and Brady to right their ship. Frank Schwab and Eric Adelson of Yahoo! Sports both think Cincinnati is the superior team, perhaps seeing the Bengals as a true contender in the AFC.
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