It’s the dawn of a new era for the New England Patriots.
Unfortunately, it might be some time before they see the light of day again.
Jerod Mayo has his work cut out for him ahead of his head coaching debut, as his team will hit the road to square off vs. Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.
Needless to say, they’re not the kind of opponent you want to face when you’re looking to get back to your winning ways.
When asked his thoughts about the best way to beat his opponent, Mayo claimed that the key would be to control the line of scrimmage (via Evan Lazar).
Jerod Mayo’s key to beating the Bengals on Sunday: “control the line of scrimmage.”
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) September 4, 2024
Truth be told, that’s a pretty generic answer, likely taken from Bill Belichick’s book.
Winning at the line of scrimmage is the key to winning pretty much every single game, regardless of the opponent.
Whether they’ll be able to do it, that’s a whole different story.
The Bengals have invested a lot of capital in their offensive line to protect Joe Burrow, and the Patriots traded their best pass-rusher away when they moved Matthew Judon.
On the other side of the field, the Patriots have one of the worst offensive lines in the game, all while the Bengals are more than capable of keeping opposing quarterbacks on their toes.
Zac Taylor’s team is favored by 8 points ahead of kickoff, and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see that number getting somewhat larger as we approach Sunday.
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