The New England Patriots will take FULL Control of the AFC East: Week 12 Preview

Matt Hylen
4 days ago
3 min read

Credit to Christopher Hennessey/Clutch Points

Week 12 of the NFL season is underway, as the 9-2 New England Patriots head to Cincinnati to take on the 3-7 Bengals. New England, who is on a miraculous 7-game winning streak, opens as 7.5-point favorites against the Bengals, who will be without Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.

Will the Patriots take care of business and take control of the AFC East? Or will the Bengals pull off a shocking result and propel themselves back in the fight for the AFC North? Here is everything you need to know before this intriguing matchup!

Injury Report

After a few weeks of a lengthy injury report, this week looks a lot better for the Patriots. Of course, DT Milton Williams (ankle) was placed on short-term injured reserve earlier this week, but here is a look at New England's final report:

QUESTIONABLE

OLB Harold Landry III (Knee)

RB Rhamondre Stevenson (Toe)

OUT

LB Jahlani Tavai (Personal/Non-injury Related)

As for the Bengals, here is a look at their report:

Doubtful

SAF Daijahn Anthony (Hamstring)

RB Samaje Perine (Ankle)

OUT

QB Joe Burrow (Toe)

WR Ja'Marr Chase (Suspension)

DE Trey Hendrickson (Hip/Pelvis)

DE Cameron Sample (Oblique)

CB Cam Taylor-Britt (Foot)

My 3 Keys to the Game

Credit to Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

First and foremost, I want to see a stop on the first drive of the game. One of the Patriots' biggest weaknesses thus far this season is their inability to stop teams from scoring on the first two drives of the game, also known as the "scripted drives." The Bengals will be without their two best players on offense on Sunday, giving the Patriot defense a massive advantage even without Milton Williams. It is key in my mind that the Pats gain the momentum early coming from the defense.

This brings me to my next key to the game, which is finding a way to stop the run without Milton Williams. Though he has not had the sack numbers that were expected, Williams has been worth every penny when it comes to stuffing the middle and stopping the run. Losing such a pivotal contributor to an aspect of a defense that makes it elite is difficult to adjust to. I want to see who is going to step up with the increased opportunities, and what the coaching staff will do in order to stop a hot-handed running back in Chase Brown.

Last but not least, my third key to the game is that the Patriots need to dominate offensively. Cincinnati is ranked among the bottom of the league in basically every metric, and though it has not mattered as much because of the winning, the Patriots' offense has been hot-and-cold recently. I think it's important for New England to have an offensive performance similar to what we saw when they faced the Panthers. With the offense getting healthier, they should dominate.

Who Wins?

Credit to David Silverman/New England Patriots

With the Bengals' three best players (Burrow, Chase, and Hendrickson) all out, I don't see this being a very difficult game for New England. They have been able to take care of business against the lower-level teams all season long, so a banged-up Bengals team does not worry me. I think Maye could have a career day in terms of passing yards, with the running backs Stevenson and Henderson also getting the opportunity to shine.

I am going to go with a final score prediction of 38-20 in favor of the Patriots. This Bengals defense is horrendous even without the injuries, while the offense is missing too many pieces to formulate a competitive game. The Patriots should dominate this one on the road and take full control of the AFC East.