7 extremely discouraging stats from Bengals Week 1 loss to Patriots

3 total fumbles, including 2 lost

The Bengals were about to score their first touchdown of the season when tight end Tanner Hudson fumbled the ball as he barreled toward the end zone. The Patriots drove down the field, milking the clock to halftime. But before the half ended, they kicked a field goal to make the score 10-0. 

The second fumble came early in the second half. After holding the Patriots to a three-and-out to start the half, Charlie Jones fumbled while trying to do too much during the punt return. 

The Bengals lost two fumbles the entirety of the season last year. They lost two in their season opener against New England. Fortunately, the Patriots scored only six points off those costly mistakes. Joe Burrow also fumbled the ball against New England, but he was able to recover it himself, at least.

It wasn’t simply that Cincinnati gave up those fumbles. What’s worse is when they occurred. No, there is never a good time for turnovers to happen. However, Hudson would have had a sure touchdown if he just held on to the ball. And, after the Bengals struggled to get off the field on defense all game, to give them the ball back on a fumbled punt return is devastating. 

170 rushing yards given up

Surrendering 16 points was a positive from the defense. Nevertheless, much work remains on that side of the ball. 

The Bengals defense gave up 170 rushing yards against the Patriots. Rhamondre Stevenson had 120 of those as he rushed for 4.8 yards per carry. Bengals running back Zack Moss had more yards per carry than Stevenson, averaging 4.9. However, Stevenson’s 25 carries were much more than Moss' nine. 

It was the first time the Patriots had a running back rush for over 100 yards in 21 games. The last time it happened was on December 18th, 2022, when Stevenson had a 172-yard performance.

The Bengals' defense ranked 26th in both rushing yards per game and total rushing yards surrendered in 2023. After an offseason that should have consisted of improving areas of weakness, they are well on their way to finishing worse in those categories rather than better. 

One sack recorded

Heading into the game, one of the talking points for the Patriots was the uncertainty around their offensive line. It was an ideal scenario for the Bengals to find a way to get to Jacoby Brissett more than they did. Cincinnati’s defense did record a sack, but it was from cornerback Dax Hill. The defensive linemen had zero sacks.

The Bengals' defensive line got to Brissett for seven QB hits. That was primarily behind the efforts of Trey Hendrickson. However, if they want the defense to perform at the level everyone expects the team to play this year, they must bring down opposing quarterbacks. Especially against the teams that are concerned about the ability of their pass protectors.