New England Patriots

Patriots Week 6 Victory: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The New England Patriots overcame a strong first half effort from the Cincinnati Bengals to score an important 35-17 win in Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium.

It certainly wasn’t a pretty afternoon for the Patriots. As is the hallmark of Bill Belichick coached teams, however, New England made key adjustments at halftime and asserted itself in the second half, taking advantage of costly miscues by the Bengals to move to 5-1 on the year.

It was an important win for Tom Brady and company, who travel to Pittsburgh next Sunday to take on a Steelers team that will be out for blood after an embarrassing Week 6 road defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins.

The Patriots now find themselves firmly ahead in the race for a first-round playoff bye, and potentially home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Upcoming road games against Pittsburgh and Buffalo, however, will continue to test a team that, thus far, has shown that it responds well in the face of adversity.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what went right, what went wrong, and what went off the rails in Sunday’s win.

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gronkowski led the way for New England’s receiving corps Sunday with 7 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. The all-pro tight end missed practice with an undisclosed illness on Friday, leaving Patriots Nation in the dark as to whether he would even be available this week. Gronk assuaged their fears, however, with his best performance of the season. He showed no ill-effects from his lingering hamstring injury and managed to net several strong runs after the catch, showing just how dangerous and versatile a weapon he can be on offense.

After a tough first half under pressure, Tom Brady put in a strong second half showing, finishing 29-35 for 376 yards and three touchdown passes, marking the second week in a row he has thrown for three scores. Brady looked sharp once again — when he had time to throw — and managed to get almost everyone involved in the offense. At age 39, there seem to be no signs of Tom Brady slowing down, which is scary news for the rest of the AFC.

James White came out of hiding for the Patriots offense, catching 8 passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns. White was an important safety valve for the offense, providing a legitimate threat that Bengals linebackers had to account for all afternoon long. With Dion Lewis inching ever closer to his return, White is making his case to remain a significant part of the New England offense, leaving Josh McDaniels with an embarrassment of riches in the backfield.

Dont’a Hightower was in the mix all afternoon. He only managed three solo tackles, but had ten (ten!) assists on other tackles and sacked Andy Dalton in the end zone in the third quarter, forcing a key safety that completely changed the momentum of the game. Hightower finally looks like he’s playing at full strength, and the Patriots will need him to stay that way as the linebacking corps continues to suffer through a rash of injuries.

Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Julian Edelman continues to have a tough time getting into the mix, managing only 30 yards on four catches in Sunday’s win. One might argue that his diminished stats are due to Brady have an assortment of weapons on offense, but even when the ball has come his way, things haven’t quite been in sync. Edelman’s foot doesn’t appear to be giving him trouble, so one must assume that it will simply be a matter of time before he gets on the same page with his quarterback. For now, however, Edelman isn’t performing up to his potential.

The New England defense continues to give up yards in big chunks. While Matt Patricia’s crew tends to make big plays in big spots, the problem is that they keep putting themselves in those pressure situations because they allow so many long yardage plays between the 20s. The defense allowed a 7-play, 60-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, as well as a 9-play, 80-yard drive in early in the third. The defense did manage an important goal-line stand in the second quarter, but only after giving up another lengthy drive.

With Jonathan Freeny on IR and injuries to Shea McLellan and Jamie Collins, the Patriots found themselves operating with a depleted linebacking corps on Sunday. It showed, especially in zone defense packages that gave up lots of soft yards in the middle of the field in the first half. Patricia dialed up more man-to-man coverage in the second half, which did a good job of minimizing the team’s front seven liability. That said, the defense will need to improve next week against a Steelers team that can score points in bunches, especially at home.

The Patriots have legitimate reason for concern after Stephen Gostkowski shanked yet another kick in Sunday’s win. Normally automatic throughout his career on anything inside 45 yards, Gostkowski has now missed three field goals and an extra point on the year. He did make field goals of 46 and 31 yards on the day, however, so it’s not quite panic time for the New England faithful just yet. Thankfully, Gostkowski’s miscues haven’t cost the Patriots a win, but given the tough games remaining on the schedule, it’s completely conceivable that he’s going to be called on to deliver a potential game-winning kick at some point. For New England’s sake, he’d better get things right before that happens.

There’s just no sugar-coating it — the offensive line did not play well. In the first half especially, Tom Brady found himself constantly hampered by Bengals defenders in the backfield. Moreover, Cincinnati managed to disrupt the New England passing game sending only five rushers, which is especially concerning for an offensive line that features both Marcus Cannon and Shaq Mason dealing with lingering injuries, and a rookie (Joe Thuney) starting at left guard. The Bengals took advantage of the suddenly vulnerable interior offensive line of the Patriots, with DT Geno Atkins spending a lot of time in Brady’s face Sunday afternoon. This is arguably the most urgent need New England must address moving forward.