New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots gave fans their biggest scare in a while early in Sunday’s 26-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cincinnati jumped to a 10-0 lead when Geno Stone returned a Drake Maye interception for a touchdown in the second quarter’s opening minute. That was the biggest deficit of New England’s nine-game winning streak.
During the game, ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted via ESPN Research that the Patriots hadn’t trailed by double-digit points since their Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. No other team has matched that stretch this season.
New England didn’t stay behind for long. Maye responded to his costly turnover by leading a 70-yard touchdown drive on the next series, and Marcus Jones gave the Pats their own pick-six to claim a lead they never relinquished.
As a result, the Patriots still haven’t trailed at halftime in any of their NFL-leading 10 wins. They also haven’t allowed more than 23 points in a game since Week 2.
Despite those encouraging trends, Sunday marked New England’s sixth single-score triumph and third in the last four games. The Patriots missed opportunities to put the game out of reach, most notably when they were stopped at the 1-yard line in the third quarter.
However, Mike Vrabel’s defense stymied Joe Flacco to 183 passing yards on 37 attempts to secure their sixth road win. The Patriots can take one step closer to the postseason when they host the reeling New York Giants on “Monday Night Football” in Week 13.
