After watching the film of the Patriots' offense against the Bengals on Sunday, I can say one thing with confidence: thank goodness for Rhamondre Stevenson and Jacoby Brissett.
Stevenson's performance kind of spoke for itself and was there for all to see. The blocking by the Patriots' offensive wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.
As you've probably heard by now, 118 of Stevenson's 120 rushing yards came after contact. Some of that is a bit misleading because there's at least one defender unaccounted on any rushing play, and it's up to the running back to make that player miss. And the Bengals did some box stacking (24 percent of the time, there were eight-plus defenders in the box - 11th-most in Week 1), so that first contact was not always because of bad blocking. Well, at least a quarter of the time it wasn't.
But Stevenson was dynamic (and so was Antonio Gibson in his chances). Of the 39 NFL running backs in Week 1, here is where they ranked by yards before contact:
36. Rhamondre Stevenson (0.08)
38. Antonio Gibson (-0.29)
Yards after contact per rush:
3. Stevenson 4.72
14. Gibson 2.86
For Stevenson, that last number is especially eye-popping considering he's averaged 3.38 yards after contact in his career. Last season, when he seemed to have some issues while Ezekiel Elliott did some nice work behind the same challenged offensive line, Stevenson averaged 2.80 yards after contact. So from last season to this one, that's a huge jump and a just reward for Stevenson remaking his body a bit in the offseason to get his burst back.
We should also point out that Stevenson's average yards after contact Sunday was his highest in a game with at least 10 carries since 2022 Week 15 against the Raiders (6.63) when Stevenson rushed for a career-high 172 yards.
And even if the Bengals aren't known as a great run defense, Stevenson looks back to his old self.
But what Brissett did against the Bengals ... that was a surprise.
While Brissett didn't have many big-time plays of the highlight variety, the way Brissett managed the game was impressive and consistent. In both halves, Brissett had five plus plays and three minus plays. Coming out a +4 in 29 dropbacks left him with a 13.8% rating in my grading. Dating back to the beginning of the 2021 season, when I started keeping track to gauge Mac Jones' progress (or, ultimately, a lack thereof), Brissett's performance against the Bengals was the fourth-highest by a Patriots QB in the last three-plus seasons. In fact, I haven't graded a Patriots QB that highly since Jones' rookie season (vs. Week 6 Cowboys, Week 10 Browns, Week 18 at Dolphins).
Yeah, color me shocked.
The Brissett most know — the one I wrote about just last week with his 2022 victory over the same Bengals — holds the ball too long, is indecisive and struggles with some of his reads. Brissett has a career sack percentage of 7.5%. Of QBs with at least 50 games and 1,500 attempts since 2016 (Brissett's rookie season), that ranks seventh-most.
And that's where Brissett did his best work against the Bengals.
For all the talk about how impressive the offensive line was (and it was improved since when we last saw them against the Commanders' backups ... low bar), the Patriots allowed an astonishing 51.7 pressure rate — despite the Bengals blitzing just four times (13.8%). That's the third-most pressure allowed by a Patriots line since 2021, and both came last year (vs. Colts, Cowboys). Brissett was hit eight times in the game, often very hard.
We all know pressure affects quarterbacks, but Brissett was mostly impervious to that on this Sunday. Since 2021, when a Patriots QB faced at least a 40% pressure rate, the average grade from me was -5.7. For Brissett to put up 13.8 is a huge credit to him and a testament to his toughness that endears him to his teammates and earned him captain status.
"I thought he showed great toughness, and to have a tough football team, it doesn't just come up front, it has to come from every position including the quarterback, doing some things like that, some dirty work, taking those hits, keeping going, just being steady, that's how they show toughness and Jacoby was that for us today and did a great job," David Andrews said after the game.
Of Brissett's 10 plus plays, four were on key scrambles where he avoided a potential drive-killing sack, and three were delivering passes under pressure. Brissett saved his best throwing for last, with clutch throws to Austin Hooper, Hunter Henry and KJ Osborn to cement the victory late.
You have to give a lot of credit to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. He and the rest of the Patriots' QB Collective (TC McCartney, Ben McAdoo, Evan Rothstein ... and a partridge in a pear tree) obviously been working on getting Brissett to process faster, which was an issue in camp and during the preseason (and this also bodes well for Drake Maye's development as well).
The big question: is this sustainable? Can the Patriots count on this type of Brissett performance every week?
Well, no quarterback can operate under sustained pressure, so the answer is no on that front. The Patriots are going to have to protect much better.
And there are several reasons why Brissett was possibly more comfortable in this game than he might be going forward. Obviously, he played in the AFC North with the Browns so he knows the Bengals well and had beaten them and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo in 2022. Same goes for Van Pelt and his gameplan. Both had intimate knowledge of the issues the Bengals could present, and the answers. They also knew where the Bengals were weak. The Patriots also had the entire offseason to prepare for this game (remember how the Patriots nearly knocked off the Eagles in the season opener last year).
We'll get a better answer on whether this is a new and improved Brissett over the next three weeks, when the Patriots encounter some top defensive minds in Mike Macdonald (Seahawks - some AFC North knowledge from his time as the Ravens' DC), Robert Saleh/Jeff Ulbrich (Jets) and Nick Sorensen/Brandon Staley (49ers), and their talented units.
If Brissett is still managing games like he did against the Bengals after the next three games, then the Patriots and Van Pelt are onto something.
Here are the offensive positional ratings against the Bengals:
Quarterback (4.5 out of 5)
My minus plays for Brissett:
- 2nd and 8 (4:39 1Q): Errant throw to Hooper on the bootleg/
- 3rd and 9 (11:56 2Q): Incomplete to Osborn. Had great protection and pop Douglas coming open on a big over route but was too impatient.
- 1st and 10 (1:36 2Q): Nearly throwing an interception to Henry in the end zone. Play was there and he was hit as he threw, but Brissett was just a tad late.
- 1st and 10 (14:54 3Q): On the deep pass to Thornton, Polk was a much better option and Brissett didn't hold the safety. Stared it down.
- 3rd and 6 (12:30 3Q): Polk, Hooper and Henry were all better options than Stevenson late before the field goal that made it 13-0.
- 3rd and 5 (4:03 4Q): High pass to Douglas put him in danger and didn't allow for him to gain more than 3 yards.
Running backs (5 out of 5)
The only thing I have to add is that Antonio Gibson makes me nervous for a fumble the way he throws his body around in traffic, but he's only fumbled 12 times in 821 career touches (1.5%). Yeah, I probably just jinxed him. Sorry.
Receivers (3 out of 5)
This group executed well with only three errors. ... There weren't a ton of opportunities, given the pressure Brissett was under, and the Bengals operated their zones well (70% zone coverage). ... Ja'Lynn Polk, who blocked really well, seemed to get open the most so I would expect the Patriots to look for him more going forward after viewing the film. ... I don't have a good answer why Pop Douglas wasn't used more, but I do think they are cognizant of putting him in harm's way too often. Plus, it's Week 1 and you don't want to show everything. He was more a victim of the pressure on Brissett. ... Tyquan Thornton has a real tough time with press coverage if the corner makes contact. ... Austin Hooper had two of the three errors: a run block and drop, but played well. Brissett loves throwing to tight ends. ... Hunter Henry had a standout game in his limited opportunities and his interception breakup in the end zone may have saved the game.
Offensive line (2 out of 5)
Take out the two left tackles, and this group was decent. But 51% pressure is way, way, way too much. ... Chuks Okorafor and Vederian Lowe (team-high nine minus plays) combined to allow more than half the pressures, mostly against Trey Hendrickson (six pressures, 26 pressure rate). Jerod Mayo basically said today that Okorafor was benched. "I think he [Chuks Okorafor] has the entire skill set to be a good tackle in this league. I would say during the game, there were some challenges. He had some challenges and some struggles over there, and [Vederian] Lowe came in and did a great job for us. Once again, it's about competing each and every week, and we'll see how this week of preparation goes. He [Chuks Okorafor] may be in there. I'm not sure. We'll just have to see how the week goes." ... Patriots will need to spend a lot of time this week developing a help plan for LT. I would be stunned if it wasn't Lowe, but he's no great shakes either. ... Mike Onwenu basically made Sam Hubbard (3 pressures, 13.6 pressure rate) invisible. ... Layden Robinson had some issues run and pass blocking (second on the team with seven minus plays), but, man, is he fun to watch. He had about five physical finishes to the ground. He had some issues diagnosing blitzes coming from the second level, so that will need to be cleaned up before opponents target him. He led the team with 4 plus blocks. He has a bright future ahead of him. ... Robinson and David Andrews had great blocks on Stevenson's touchdown but that score really happened because Bengals LB Germaine Pratt was in the wrong gap after the Patriots motioned. I wonder if that's something Van Pelt and Brissett targeted with their knowledge of the Bengals. ... I had a feeling Michael Jordan would get the elevation and play at least some at left guard, and he rewarded the Patriots with a very solid game. He's probably the best zone blocker the Patriots have. ... Caeden Wallace was decent in his 18 snaps as a TE. When he was on the field, 10 plays were successful by Expected Points Added, and 8 were not. .... Order of effectiveness: Andrews, Onwenu, Jordan, Robinson, Lowe, Okorafor.
THREE UP
Rhamondre Stevenson: He was simply incredible in this game. No way they win without him. Mondre is back.
Jacoby Brissett: This is why he started the season. To be that steady in the face of that much pressure gave this team a chance. Now, can he sustain it?
David Andrews: At some point I need to go back and figure out how many clean sheets Andrews has in his career. Chalk up another one.
TWO DOWN
Chuks Okorafor: Basically what Mayo was saying was something's off with this guy. He has the tools, but does he want it? The answer to this point is no.
Vederian Lowe: Not bad considering he practiced once in about two weeks, but he'll need to be a lot better going forward.