The New England Patriots have an opportunity to create unfortunate history for their Week 12 opponent.
New England will seek its ninth straight win when facing the Cincinnati Bengals, who fell to 3-7 after Sunday’s 34-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cincinnati’s defense remained a glaring problem during the lopsided division battle.
Bengals Talk’s Jay Morrison noted that the Bengals matched a Super Bowl era record on Sunday. They joined the 2020 Los Angeles Chargers as the only other team to allow 27 or more points in nine straight games.
A leaky defense kept Cincinnati out of the 2024 postseason despite an MVP-caliber campaign from Joe Burrow. The unit has gotten even worse this season.
Cincinnati has already ceded more than 30 points six times, including each of the last three games. The Bengals dropped consecutive contests to the New York Jets and Chicago Bears despite scoring 80 combined points.
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They rank last with 33.4 points and 418.2 yards allowed per game, so Drake Maye and a surging New England offense could have a fun Sunday at Paycor Stadium.
Making matters worse for the Bengals, Trey Hendrickson is doubtful for the Week 12 clash. The star pass rusher missed Sunday’s Steelers loss with a hip and pelvis injury.
On the other hand, the Patriots became the third team to score at least 23 points and allow no more than 23 points in eight straight games. They’re seventh in scoring and ninth in total offense through 11 games.
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The Patriots-Bengals game starts Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
