Dussault: Patriots hid their weaknesses well versus Bengals
On Monday’s Toucher & Hardy program, Mike Dussault of Patriots.com reacted to the performance of the New England Patriots offensive line.
Patriots Offensive Line Performance
Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.
Fred Toucher: Everyone said the offensive line looked terrible during the preseason. What did you see from them yesterday? What were they good at? What did they struggle with? Can you get positionally specific with some players?
Mike Dussault: Yeah, I thought they held up okay. Looking at some of the stats, they were pressured on nearly 50 percent of their dropbacks, which is a lot.
Credit to Jacoby Brissett too. I thought he moved well in the pocket. He was able to avoid some of that pressure. They prevented any major mistakes.
They did almost have one interception. In the past, that would’ve been a ball that’s probably picked off. I think the offensive line was right, they held up, but it must be better. You can’t be under that much pressure and expect Brissett not to make mistakes going forward.
I think they threaded the needle with all this stuff, all their weaknesses, and they were able to hide certain things. They got some big runs at the end that hid some of their lack of production in the passing game.
So, things went alright, yesterday. But there are certainly some things the offensive line has to clean up, especially if they want to win more games like this.
Hardy: Mike, from an X’s and O’s standpoint, what could the Bengal’s defense have done differently? We know that at certain points the Patriots ran with a six-man offensive line.
Dussault: I mean, the big change with the Patriots was the simple fact that they didn’t make stupid mistakes. They didn’t have a bunch of fumbles, that was a problem last season. In the last couple of years, the Patriots needed a narrow path to victory. They weren’t going to get behind early and come back. They weren’t going to get in a big shootout.
But when the Patriots get the lead and the game plays into their hands, then they’re able to execute. So, yesterday was a little bit of a Bill Belichick tribute.
Things will be tough on the Patriots if the offensive line doesn’t improve.
Segment Audio
Ryan Beaton is a producer for 985thesportshub.com. You can follow Ryan at @ry_beaton on Twitter.
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Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in an upset win over the Bengals?
UP: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley
Bentley was all over the field in his first game captaining the defense under new coordinator DeMarcus Covington. He logged a team-high 12 tackles, and also generated a half-sack, as he was often shooting gaps to bring the pressure on third downs. The Pats defense was humming for most of the game, and it’s no coincidence that Bentley was heavily involved in that.
Sep 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss (31) runs with the ball against New England Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (8) and safety Kyle Dugger (23) in the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
DOWN: LT Vederian Lowe
Lowe isn’t as much of a “down” as Okorafor, as he came into the game as essentially an emergency backup. But it turned out that Lowe had to check into the game in the first quarter. He committed a false start during his first series and gave up a fair amount of pressure, but quarterback Jacoby Brissett handled it well. Despite the thrill of victory, left tackle remains a big concern for the Patriots going forward.
Next Patriots Ups & Downs comes after they take on the Seattle Seahawks in their 2024 home opener at Gillette Stadium.
