Quick Take: Bengals beat Patriots, 16-14... or did they?
Carson`s kid brother braving the Patriot pass rush
It was over when...
On what would have been the last play of the game, the Patriots failed to snap the ball before time expired. After being shut out in the first half, the Patriots took the lead for the first time with just under 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter when Tom Brady connected with TE Thomas on 3 yard pass. The Bengals fought back valiantly, and drove down to New England's 1 yard line before having to settle for a field goal with 1:30 left on the clock. Then Brady took over, completing one pass after another and taking his team into the Bengals' red zone. All they needed was a short field goal to seal the win, and few in Paul Brown stadium would have bet a cent on the home team to somehow come away with a victory. Yet they did when, in an oddly anticlimactic finish, the Patriots failed to snap the ball in time, despite having nearly 20 seconds left on the clock when they lined up for the FG attempt!
Game ball
Bengals kicker Shayne Graham made the difference in this close-fought game. While his counterpart Steven Gostkowski missed on 2 FG attempts, and didn't even get to try what should have been his third, Graham was perfect, nailing all 3 of his attempts (one of them from 50 yards out).
Key stats
Tom Brady passed for over 300 yards, but was intercepted twice... The Patriots outgained the Bengals in yards, but failed to convert on third down for much of the game, going 2 for 11... Cedric Benson ran the ball 28 times for 94 yards... New England sacked Cincinnati's QBs 7 times - including 3 by Mike Vrabel... In spite of the constant pressure on the QBs, they were able to find T.J Houshmandzadeh 6 times for 92 yards.
Noteworthy
The Bengals lost not one, but two QBs to injury. Carson Palmer went down early in the first quarter with an abdominal strain, and is likely to miss at least 2 weeks of action. His replacement Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't fare much better; after enduring 6 sacks, he was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter when he tried to run for a first time himself. So Jordan Palmer had to take over, and he made the most of his opportunity. With 2 defenders closing in on him, he found Houshmandzadeh for a crucial 31 yards completion on third down and 5, keeping the Bengals' drive alive and setting up what would be the game winning field goal.
