New England (9-2) at Cincinnati (3-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.
BetMGM line: Patriots by 8 1/2.
Against the spread: Patriots 8-3; Bengals 3-7.
Series record: Patriots lead 18-10.
Last meeting: Patriots won 16-10 in Cincinnati on Sept. 8, 2024.
Last week: Patriots beat Jets 27-14; Bengals lost to Steelers 34-12.
Patriots offense: overall (9), rush (20), pass (7), scoring (7)
Patriots defense: overall (8), rush (1), pass (17), scoring (5)
Bengals offense: overall (23), rush (30t), pass (14), scoring (18)
Bengals defense: overall (32), rush (32), pass (31), scoring (32)
Turnover differential: Patriots even; Bengals minus-7.
QB Drake Maye. The second-year quarterback has thrust himself into the NFL MVP conversation. Through 11 games he has completed 71.9% of his passes for 2,836 passing yards, which both lead the league. He also has eight games in 2025 with at least two touchdown passes after throwing two in the first half at Tampa Bay on Nov. 9. The Patriots record for most games with at least two touchdown passes in a single season is 14 by Tom Brady in 2011 and 2007.
QBs Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco. Burrow took his first snaps in 11-on-11 drills on Wednesday since returning to practice on Nov. 10. Burrow had surgery on his left big toe after injuring it during a Week 2 win over Jacksonville. Burrow is expected to return for the Thanksgiving night game at Baltimore, which would give Flacco one more Bengals start on Sunday. Flacco is averaging 290.6 yards in his five Cincinnati starts since being traded by Cleveland.
Patriots DT Christian Barmore vs. Bengals offensive line. Barmore leads NFL defensive tackles with 37 pressures. Cincinnati quarterbacks have been sacked 23 times, tied for 16th, but have struggled to find consistency on the offensive line because of injuries.
Patriots: WR Stefon Diggs revealed this week that he broke his finger at some point over the past two games and has been playing through the pain. RB Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), who's missed the past three games, began the week as a limited participant.
Bengals: DE Trey Hendrickson (hip) is expected to be inactive for the fourth time in five games ... RB Samaje Perine (ankle) and DE Cam Sample (oblique) are also expected to be out.
New England has won eight of the past 10 meetings. ... The Patriots are 8-7 in games at Cincinnati, including 4-2 at Paul Brown Stadium/Paycor Field since it opened in 2000. ... Tom Brady's 52-game streak of throwing a touchdown pass was snapped by the Bengals in a 2013 game.
Cincinnati will be without WR Ja'Marr Chase, who was suspended for one game after he spat on Pittsburgh CB Jalen Ramsey last week. ... The Patriots enter this week on an eight-game win streak. They have had streaks of at least nine consecutive wins in a season on three previous occasions — 12 in 2003, 16 in 2007 and 10 in 2015. ... New England is 5-0 on the road this season. The Patriots have started with a 6-0 record on the road five previous times: 1978 (6-0), 2007 (8-0), 2016 (8-0), 2017 (6-0) and 2021 (6-0). ... A victory this week will give the Patriots their 28th 10-win season, which would tie Pittsburgh for the second most since 1970. Only Dallas has more (29). ... New England ranks first in the NFL against the run, allowing 84.7 rushing yards per game. The team record for fewest rushing yards allowed since the NFL merger is 88.6 per game in 2016. ... RB TreVeyon Henderson has had two rushing TDs in each of the past two games. The previous Patriots player to have at least two rushing touchdowns in three consecutive games was Curtis Martin in 1995. The only other to do it was Horace Ivory with three straight games in 1978. ... WR Stefon Diggs had his 39th career 100-yard receiving game and third of the season in last week's win over the Jets when he finished with nine receptions for 105 yards. If he reaches 100 yards receiving this week it will mark his second two-game stretch this season with 100 yards receiving. He followed a 101-yard game against Carolina in Week 4 with 146 yards receiving at Buffalo in Week 5. ... WR Kayshon Boutte is second in the NFL to Indianapolis WR Alec Pierce (20.9) with an 18.7-yard receiving average. ... RB Rhamondre Stevenson is in seventh place on the Patriots career rushing list and needs 47 yards rushing this week to move past Don Calhoun (3,391) into sixth place. ... LB Elijah Ponder has had a sack in each of the past two games. ... The Bengals have allowed at least 27 points in nine straight games, tied with the 1964 Denver Broncos and 2020 Los Angeles Chargers for longest in-season streak in league history. ... RB Chase Brown has four straight games with at least 100 scrimmage yards and is 67 away from 2,500 in his career. ... WR Tee Higgins has a TD catch in nine straight home games. ... TE Noah Fant has a TD catch in two of the past three home games. ... LB Barrett Carter is fourth among NFL rookies in tackles with 58. ... CB DJ Turner is tied for the league lead with 14 passes defensed. ... Cincinnati leads the league with 126 missed tackles, 33 more than second-place Pittsburgh. Safeties Geno Stone and Jordan Battle are tied for the league with 16 each.
Cincinnati WR Andrei Iosivas could get more targets with Chase out. Iosivas has eight of his 19 receptions in the past two games.
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