Jerod Mayo knew what it would take for the Patriots to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium: New England needed to control the line of scrimmage and play well on special teams.
Well, it's one thing to say those things and it's another to go out there and do it.
That's what the Patriots did in their stunning 16-10 victory against Joe Burrow and the Bengals on Sunday. And in doing so, the Patriots showed their blueprint for success in 2024.
"We talked about establishing the running game and being able to stop their running game to make them one dimensional, we did a good job with that," Mayo told reporters after the win, per a team-provided video. "It was great."
New England rushed for 170 yards on 39 attempts (4.4 yards per carry). The Patriots out-snapped Cincinnati by 16 plays. They tasked running back Rhamondre Stevenson with shouldering the load in Alex Van Pelt's outside zone scheme. The Patriots even loaded up on the line and featured a jumbo tight end in offensive tackle Caedan Wallace. That worked successfully to the tune of a 5.3 yard-per-rush average in the first half.
Stevenson later asked Van Pelt to start running more downhill behind center David Andrews and right guard Layden Robinson. Stevenson saw those guys eating away at Cincinnati's defensive front. That strategy worked just fine, too, as evidence by Stevenson's four consecutive runs for 26 yards with two minutes remaining. Stevenson's hard-fought first downs put the game away after New England started the drive with 2:13 left. At the time, Cincinnati owned its three timeouts and the two-minute warning.
The ability to move the ball on the ground helped New England's pass protection, which was an underwhelming aspect of training camp. It seemed to be an issue in Week 1, as well. Jacoby Brissett was under pressure and took some big hits while Chukwuma Okorafor was replaced at left tackle just 13 snaps into the game, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. Vederian Lowe took over for Okorafor. The running game ensured that wasn't the main takeaway from the contest.
The blueprint wasn't just on the offensive side, though.
The Patriots defense forced a pair of Bengals turnovers and sacked Burrow three times. Keion White and company controlled the line of scrimmage as Cincinnati gained just 70 yards on the ground. The longest run of the day for the Bengals was eight yards.
"They came out on fire," Mayo said of the defense. "We challenged those guys. Everyone was talking about Cincy's offense and how explosive they are, and they answered the call. It started up front, all those defensive linemen, they did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage."
White finished with 2 1/2 sacks, safety Kyle Dugger recorded a key forced fumble and the secondary seemed to have Burrow and company out of sorts throughout. Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez followed Ja'Marr Chase and held the star wideout to a quiet six catches.
"It was a total unit effort," Mayo said.
And on special teams? Veteran long snapper Joe Cardona forced a fumble on Cincinnati's punt return at the start of the second half. Brenden Schooler looked like the league's best at his position, as well.
The Patriots will face stiffer competition than what the Bengals offered in Week 1. Cincinnati had one of the worst run defenses in the league last year, after all. But if New England can stick to its script from the season opener, the Patriots surely will exceed the expectations of those outside One Patriot Place.
