Back from their mini-bye, the 9-2 New England Patriots head out to Cincinnati for a matchup against the 3-7 Bengals. In the midst of nine straight victories, New England will look to make it 10 in a row to match their longest winning streak since 2015.
The Patriots offense will have reinforcements in order to do so, as Kayshon Boutte and Rhamondre Stevenson return from injury to help Drake Maye against a historically bad Bengals defense. Cincinnati, meanwhile, will be without star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase while quarterback Joe Burrow was not activated off injured reserve despite practicing this week.
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Follow along down below throughout Sunday’s contest.
Live score: Patriots 20 : 13 Bengals
Sunday, Nov. 23, 1:00 p.m. ET | Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, OH | Broadcast information | Inactives | Game day roster
First Quarter
The Bengals won the toss and deferred putting Drake Maye and the Patriots offense on the field first. New England picked up an opening third-down on the ground — in which left guard Jared Wilson went down with an injury — before Maye’s pass on the following third-down fell incomplete as he was hit as he threw.
New England’s defense allowed the Joe Flacco-led Bengals offense to pick up three first downs — including a pair of third-down conversions to Mike Gesicki — to start their first possession of the game. Across midfield, Cincinnati settled for a 53-yard field goal attempt on a fourth-and-3 following a drop by Tee Higgins. [Patriots 0 : 3 Bengals]
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Facing a third-and-6 to start their next drive, Maye’s pass to Hunter Henry fell incomplete leading to a second straight Patriots punt.
A pair of runs got the Bengals offense back on the move picking up a first-down before Chase Brown moved the chains again to bring the unit to midfield. Set up with a third-and-5, Flacco’s pass was slightly behind Gesicki and fell incomplete, but the offense stayed on the field on fourth-down which saw K’Lavon Chaisson jump offsides. New England’s defense then get off the field on the next third-and-5, as strong coverage allowed Harold Landry to get home for a sack.
Second Quarter
The Patriots next drive started backed up at their own 10-yard line and disaster quickly struck as Maye airmailed an interception to Geno Stone who returned it for a touchdown. [Patriots 0 : 10 Bengals]
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Trailing by double digits for the first time since Week 3, New England picked up an opening first-down on the ground but saw Morgan Moses head to the locker room with an injury. Then facing a third-and-4, Maye stepped up and kept it himself diving forward for a first-down. Converting another third-and-short to Hunter Henry to move into Bengals territory, Maye then maneuvered the pocket and went right back to his tight end for a 28-yard touchdown. [Patriots 7 : 10 Bengals]
The Patriots defense then made their mark, as Marcus Jones jumped a Flacco pass to the flat and took an interception to the house for a pick-six. [Patriots 14 : 10 Bengals]
Back with the ball, Chase Brown got to work on the ground before an offensive holding call moved Cincinnati back into a first-and-20 situation. On a then third-and-23, New England’s defense got off the field after a Bengals completion and lateral picked up 17 yards.
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The Patriots offense took over with a lead at their own 10-yard line and found some breathing room as Maye found Henry for an 18-yard completion. Prior to the two-minute warning, Maye went back over the middle this time to Austin Hooper for 14 yards to move just shy of midfield before finding Hooper the next play for 21 more yards. Facing a third-and-8, Maye’s scramble only could pick up six yards which led to a 41-yard field goal by Andy Borregales. [Patriots 17 : 10 Bengals]
A 67-yard kick return by Charlie Jones was negated due to a holding call, which led to the Bengals handing a ball off with 18 seconds remaining in the half that Brown took 21 yards. After calling a timeout, Flacco found Higgins over the middle of the field for 16 more yards leading to the Bengals taking their final timeout with four seconds remaining. A 63-yard field goal try was then good. [Patriots 17 : 13 Bengals]
Third Quarter
Cincinnati started the second half with the ball and immediately faced a third-and-5 in which K’Lavon Chaisson got home on a stunt to help force a throwaway.
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New England’s first possession of the half started backed up at their own 10-yard line yet again. Facing a third-and-11, Maye let one go downfield to DeMario Douglas who hauled it in for a 37-yard gain before an end around went right back to Douglas for 14 more yards. Maye then kept his eyes downfield as a shot to Kayshon Boutte resulted in a defensive pass interference at the five-yard line. On third-and-goal from the one, a play-action rollout target to Henry fell incomplete. Keeping the offense on the field on fourth-down a pass to Boutte drew another defensive flag to earn a fresh set of downs. New England then had a touchdown negated due to offensive pass interference on Mack Hollins before a shovel pass to Henry got the ball right back to the one-yard line — where a third-and-goal handoff to Stevenson was stuffed. Going again on fourth-down, Stevenson was stopped short again leading to a turnover on downs.
Taking over backed up on their own goal line a first-down handoff to Brown picked up necessary breathing room with a 13-yard gain. A completion to Iosivas then picked up 17 yards before New England’s defense got off the field with a following third-down incompletion.
A first-down run saw rookie left tackle Will Campbell stay down with an injury, leading to Veteran Lowe coming in for replacement. Completions to Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins then downfield got New England’s offense into Cincinnati territory. A second-down sack on a slot blitz led to a third-and-12, where Maye escaped pressure to find Henry for just 11 yards. Andy Borregales’ 45-yard field goal was then good. [Patriots 20 : 13 Bengals]
