Drake Maye and the Patriots fell behind the Cincinnati Bengals 10-0 after the first quarter on Sunday, but New England flipped the switch in the second quarter, riding a Hunter Henry touchdown and a Marcus Jones pick-six to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish, hanging on for a 26-20 victory that was marred by injuries for both teams.
It wasn't New England's cleanest performance of the season in route to their tenth win. Maye threw the first pick-six of his career, while the offense was stopped on two different possessions inside the Bengals five-yard line.
It was also the first game of the season filled with significant injuries for the Patriots, with multiple starters leaving the game and not returning, but New England was able to hang on for the win despite the attrition and lack of execution in some key moments.
Here's how it unfolded!
1. Bengals Control First Quarter
It was a slow start for Drake Maye and the Patriots offense as they'd muster just one first down on two possessions in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco and the Bengals had a good plan out of the gate, posting a 54-yard field goal on their opening drive of the game. The Patriots almost gave them a shot at more points on their second drive when K'Lavon Chaisson jumped offsides on 4th-and-5 to give the Bengals a new set of downs. But the pressure and coverage would step up on the next third down, with the back end holding up long enough for Harold Landry III to get home.
The Bengals took a 3-0 lead into the start of the second quarter, and they'd quickly add to it.
2. Maye Pick-Sixed
Drake Maye did not look sharp to start the game, and that shakiness carried over into the second quarter as Maye launched a second-down pass toward no-man's land up the seam and safety Geno Stone picked it off, taking it to the end zone for a pick-six. It was the first pick-six of Maye's career and extended the Bengals lead to 10-0. Maye started the game 3-of-7 for 16 yards with the interception as the offense struggled to establish any kind of a rhythm early in the game.
TreVeyon Henderson continued to take the lead back carries despite Rhamondre Stevenson's return and showed some wiggle, but injuries continued to add up for a second game in a row with both Jared Wilson and Morgan Moses leaving the game. Ben Brown (LG) and Marcus Bryant (RT) replaced them. Wilson was announced with an ankle injury and did not return, while Moses departed due to illness and returned in the second quarter.
It was the Patriots biggest deficit since Week 3, their last loss of the season.
3. Maye, Patriots Defense Come Alive
It wouldn't take long for Maye and the Patriots offense to kick into gear and turn the poor start around. They put together a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown scoring drive after the turnover with Maye finding Hunter Henry wide open down field for a 28-yard touchdown. Maye converted one 3rd-and-4 with his legs and then picked up 11 yards with a pass to Henry on a 3rd-and-2 along the way. Some of Maye's throws were high early on, but the touchdown throw was a signature "skip-and-rip" as he appeared to settle down and started to find his stride on the team's fourth offensive drive.
The defense would piggyback on the momentum, with Marcus Jones coming up with a pick-six of Flacco on the Bengals ensuing possession. It was Jones' second career pick-six, with both of them coming against the Bengals, his first coming back in 2022 off of Joe Burrow. The throw came late from Flacco and Jones was all over it, stepping in front of the pass and taking it into the end zone uncontested.
Just like that, New England took their first lead of the game,14-10. Then they'd tack on another three points just before half with a 41-yard field goal by Andy Borregales to make it 17-10 but sloppy play by the defense didn't maintain that lead into the break.
4. Bengals Add Three Before Half
After taking a 17-10 lead, the Patriots dodged a bullet on the ensuing kickoff with a Bengals holding penalty negating a 67-yard return that would've set Cinci up at the New England 27-yard line. Instead, Flacco and the Bengals started their final drive of the second quarter from their own 18. But it would take just two plays for them to get back into field goal range: a Chase Brown 21-yard run then a 16-yard catch by Tee Higgins. The Pats D allowed far too much space on both plays and just like that the Bengals were able to put a stop to New England's momentum.
Evan McPherson then hit a 63-yard field goal to make it 17-13 at the half. It was poor situational play by the Patriots, who have been extremely efficient this season and playing well before and after halftime. This time, two plays quickly led to three points, just as it looked like New England was surging away with the game.
5. Pats Stopped at the One-Yard Line
The Patriots defense recovered from their end-of-quarter performance, pitching a three-and-out on the Bengals opening possession of the third quarter. It looked like Maye and the offense might do the same, until he hit Pop Douglas for 37 yards on a 3rd-and-11 from the Pats own 9-yard line. It was a huge play that flipped field position and gave New England a new set of downs. Douglas added an end around for 14 yards and then a pass interference call on Cincinnati helped add on 35 more yards, as Maye targeted Kayshon Boutte with a deep shot.
New England would get another pass interference penalty on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line but would give back the yardage with an offensive pass interference penalty on Mack Hollins that canceled out a would-be Hunter Henry touchdown. A shovel pass to Henry would take the Pats right back to the one-yard line on the next play. But that is where the drive would end, as two attempts to run the ball into the end zone from one yard out were stuffed by the Bengals defense. New England also burned two timeouts inside the red zone, as they failed to come away with points despite running nine plays from the five-yard line or closer to the Bengals end zone.
6. Injuries Adding Up
Will Campbell would join the ranks of the injured on the Patriots next drive, as the left side of the Pats line was left to be manned by backups Vederian Lowe (LT) and Ben Brown (LG). Like fellow rookie Jared Wilson, Campbell was carted off the field, never a good sign.
Still, New England was still able to tack on another field goal to make it 20-13, thanks in large part to a 24-yard reception by Mack Hollins.
7. Stopped in Red Zone Again
The Patriots defense forced three Bengals punts to start the second half. Their offense was stopped on the one-yard line on their first possession, they added a field goal on their second and on their third possession, Maye led the best drive of the day but again they'd be stopped on the one-yard line, with their version of the tush push unable to pick up the final yard for score. New England would settle for a field goal, making it 23-13 with just under six minutes to play.
Hunter Henry continued to pile up the catches as he went over 100 yards in the game. He also topped 40 receptions for his fifth-straight season with the Patriots, the second-longest streak by a Patriots tight end all-time (Ben Coates, six).
It was a welcome seven-minute drive, New England's longest of the day, but settling for field goals instead of touchdowns inside the red zone kept the door open for a Bengals comeback.
8. Bengals Make Late Push
The defense couldn't force a punt for a fourth-straight drive in the fourth quarter, with Flacco (and Jake Browning for a play) helping Cincinnati make it deep into Patriots territory. Injuries piled up for the Bengals as well on this drive, with both Andre Iosivas and Tee Higgins going down. Both teams were hit hard by injuries in this one.
But Flacco didn't blink, hitting Mitch Tinsely for a 17-yard touchdown over Christian Gonzalez to close the lead to 23-20 with 4:40 left. The scoring drive took just 1:15 of game time, putting the pressure back on Maye and the Patriots to close it out or give the Bengals to tie it with a field goal and win it with a touchdown.
9. Pats Close It Out
Kyle Williams gave New England an immediate boost on the ensuing kickoff, getting out to the Patriots 40-yard line, and gaining valuable field position at this stage of the game. Still, they'd face a quick 3rd-and-10 and that's where Stefon Diggs came through with another critical catch like he has all season long, keeping the drive alive and forcing the Bengals to start burning timeouts.
New England couldn't convert a second third down however, settling for a 52-yard field goal by Andy Borregales to make it 26-20 with 1:51 left and the Bengals with one timeout.
The Bengals final drive started at their own 29-yard and they converted two fourth downs as they moved across midfield with under a minute to play. A big passing play for 19 yards took the Bengals to the New England 26, but they'd run into a 4th-and-10 after two passes defensed by Carlton Davis. Marcus Jones would come up with the final pass defense and New England took over on downs, kneeling to seal the win.
10. Patriots are 10-2
With the win, the Patriots improve to 10-2 on the 2025 season and extend their win streak to nine games, while maintaining their spot atop the AFC East. Injuries continued to add up in this game after the loss of Milton Williams last week against the Jets. Will Campbell, Jared Wilson, Khyris Tonga and Brenden Schooler all left with injuries and did not return.
With one game to go before their bye, the Patriots will welcome an extended week before their next contest on Monday Night Football against the Giants. It's a sporadic schedule that will take them to their late bye week, presenting head coach Mike Vrabel with a challenge in balancing the change in routine with the required rest that a team needs after three-straight months of NFL games. The bye can't come soon enough, but the Patriots continue to reel off wins and set themselves up well for the final five games of the regular season, with the top seed in the AFC and the valuable bye week that comes with it still very much within reach.
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