Expect plenty of offense Monday night in Cincinnati as the unbeaten Patriots visit the 1-2 Bengal's to close out Week 4 in the NFL. New England is-7.5 on WagerWeb.com, with an over/under of 53.5.
New England has looked like the class of the league this far, scoring 38 points in each victory and not winning by less than 24. QB Tom Brady is off to the best start of his career, leading the NFL in passer rating at 141.8, completing nearly 80 percent of his throws for 887 yards with a league-high 10 touchdowns and one interception.
Meanwhile, Randy Moss has been reborn, with 403 receiving yards and five touchdown catches, becoming the first player in NFL history with at least 100 yards receiving in his first three games with a new team. Moss is on pace to catch 117 passes for 2,149 yards and 27 touchdowns this season.
"He's a mismatch every time he's out there," Brady said. "My job's easy. I've just got to throw it up there."
New England's running game is lead by Laurence Maroney, who ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns against Cincinnati last year and has rushed for 252 yards and 4.7 per carry. However, he is a game-time decision tonight due to injury; veteran Sammy Morris would start in his place.
After three weeks, New England ranked first in the NFL in both total offense and defense. If there is one chink in New England's armor, it has been red zone defense: Opponents have scored touchdowns all five times they have moved inside the Patriots' 20-yard line.
"We haven't stopped anybody all year," Coach Bill Belichick said. "It's been a focus. We have to do a better job down there. We have to coach it better. We have to play it better. We have to do a better job.
We're going to have to stop somebody sometime. We haven't stopped anybody yet.
In preparing for Cincinnati, Belichick has emphasized taking care of the ball because the Bengals have been good at creating turnovers in recent years. Since Coach Marvin Lewis took over in 2003, the Bengal's are second in the NFL with a plus-37 in takeaways.
The Cincinnati offense should present the biggest challenge thus far for New England.QB Carson Palmer had a league-high 80 completions the first three weeks and his 937 passing yards were tops in the AFC entering Week 4. He had completed 64 percent of his passes and had thrown for nine touchdowns. T.J. Houshmandzadeh came into Week 4 leading the NFL with 29 receptions, while Chad Johnson was third with 25 and first with 442 receiving yards.
Cincinnati will hope to run the ball to keep the New England offense off the field, but the Bengals will be without starting RB Rudi Johnson, who averaged 1,407 rushing yards the last three seasons. He is out with a hamstring injury. Kenny Watson, who has 60 yards on nine carries (6.7 avg.) this year, will start.
"We're real confident in the things that he can do, "Lewis said. "He gives us a different style, a little bit more flashy than what Rudi J. is."
The reason the Bengals are 1-2 is their defense, which is giving up 402.7 yards and 31.7 points per game, both fourth-worst in the NFL.
In a 24-21 loss to Seattle last week, Cincinnati couldn't make a big stop late as Matt Hasselbeck threw his third touchdown pass. The Bengals secondary was torched the previous Sunday by Derek Anderson in a 51-45 loss to the Browns.
But the Bengals can score points as fast as they can give them up.
"This is a very talented and explosive team," Belichick said. "Offensively, I think we know who all of the playmakers are."
Last year, New England sent Cincinnati?s season spiraling downward. The Pats won 38-13, also on Oct. 1 at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals came into the game with a 3-0 record, but then slumped to a 6-10 record.
"It has been a year, and that's what it's all about," Lewis said. "It's time to step up and play NFL football." "It's an important week for us."
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