Bengals Nosedive Continues against New England

Even if they aren't mathematically eliminated, the Bengals 26 - 20 loss to the Patriots effectively ends their season.

The Cincinnati Bengals entered today’s game against the New England Patriots with their backs pinned firmly against the wall, and it was going to take a complete team effort for the 3 - 7 Bengals to steal a win against the best team in their conference.  As it happened, the Bengals nearly pulled off the upset even without playing their best game thanks to some uncharacteristically sloppy play from Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.  But even with a bit of help thrown in from Maye, the Bengals didn’t have nearly enough to get the job done.

The Bengals season was all but over after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, and this most recent loss – their eighth in their last nine games – puts the proverbial nail in the coffin.  This team isn’t making the playoffs.  Sure, they might in theory be in the playoff hunt, if only because the AFC North is setting the bar so low, but that would require at minimum the Bengals winning their last six games.  Could they do it?  In theory.  In reality, they have no shot.

Yes, they’re about to get Joe Burrow back.  Yes, they’ll have Ja’Marr Chase next week against the Baltimore Ravens too.  It’s even encouraging how well the defense played today.  The Bengals also became the first team to have a running back break 58+ rushing yards on the Patriots defense, and Chase Brown finished with 107.  Heck, even the backup receivers – highlighted by Mitchell Tinsley looking like a ten-year vet on the Bengals last two drives – stepped up with Chase absent and Higgins leaving the game with a head injury.

This was the kind of complementary football the Bengals have been missing all year, and it ultimately didn’t make a difference.  The Bengals weren’t good enough to take advantage of it.  Another wasted opportunity, and another wasted season.

Frankly, the Bengals were fortunate the margin wasn’t greater.  Maye spotted the Bengals seven points with an ugly pick-six in which he badly overthrew his intended receiver, though Flacco returned the favor with an even uglier pick-six of his own just six minutes later.  The Bengals mostly bottled up the Patriots on the ground, and stuffed the Patriots numerous times when backed up against their own goal line, limiting the Pats to just 3 points on two red zone trips.  The defense stepped up in a big way today, but it wasn’t all good news.

Cornerback Dax Hill, starting on the outside after spending most of this season playing in the slot, was hit with three pass interference penalties on the day, while none of the Bengals defenders seemed particularly interested in covering tight ends today.  DJ Turner II did an excellent job in coverage against Patriots top receiver Stefon Diggs, and slot corner Jalen Davis made an impact with a sack and a tackle for a loss in his first game since being elevated from the practice squad this year, but the Patriots still moved the ball with relative ease, finishing the day with 392 total yards, their third-highest output of the season.

The Bengals offense, meanwhile, continues to regress as the season goes along.  The Joe Flacco Experience in October was a fun one, but it appears to be running on fumes.  The Bengals banged-up, 41-year-old passer looked his age against the Patriots, struggling to escape pressure and grimacing with pain after every hit.  The Bengals had a very strong day running the ball against one of the best run-stopping units in the NFL, and it hardly mattered because the Bengals were basically a non-threat through the air without Chase in the lineup.

The Bengals were never going to beat a top team like the Patriots with one arm tied behind their back, and it’s remarkable they got so close in the first place.  Once Higgins was lost for the game, the Bengals had to resort to putting multiple tight ends on the field, even in obvious passing situations.  It’s fitting that, on their last offensive possession, on a day in which their offensive line played so well, that pressure got to Flacco immediately and forced the off-target, and ultimately incomplete, throw on fourth down.  In the crucial moments, this team can’t – and won’t – get the job done.

So, the season’s over, even if the math says it isn’t.  Joe Burrow will probably return to the lineup at some point, though the Bengals should be taking every precaution at this point.  There’s no need to put Burrow in harm’s way just to make the last six games more entertaining.  Burrow missing the last nine games has been brutal enough, but an injury that leads to missing games in 2026 would be the epitome of football mismanagement.  All eyes should be on next year, especially in the Bengals front office.

There’s no sugar-coating how a massive disappointment this season has turned out to be.  The AFC, and the AFC North in particular, is wide open for the taking.  The Bengals with Burrow obviously doesn't change their defensive woes, but they also likely don’t stall out on offense like they have the last two weeks either.  The 2025 Bengals with a healthy Burrow are at least in the mix; the 2025 Bengals without Burrow are decidedly not.