
Going into Week 12, the New England Patriots were seeking their tenth win of the year.
And they succeeded with a 26-20 win at Paycor Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. The win also allowed the Patriots to extend their win streak to nine — continuing their momentum they've been mounting all year. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, its latest loss marked its fourth-straight defeat.
The Patriots concluded play against Cincinnati with 401 all-purpose yards.
New England was able to achieve their latest win despite — surprisingly — originally falling behind to Cincinnati, 10-0.
New head coach Mike Vrabel has now scored 23 or more points in the last eight games this season. The three-time Super Bowl champion as a player with the Patriots now becomes the third coach in Patriots' history with 10 or more wins in his first year on the job.
Cornerback Marcus Jones' 33-yard interception returned for a touchdown in the first half marked the first pick-six for the Patriots since 2023. It marked the second touchdown from an interception of Jones's career.
Several injuries were present on the field for New England, with offensive linemen Will Campbell and Jared Wilson, in addition to defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga, all going down on the field at some point throughout the four quarters of play.
Both Campbell (knee) and Wilson (ankle) were later ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Tight end Hunter Henry had quite a game and set a single-game career high in receiving yards at Cincinnati with 115 receiving yards on seven receptions. His former best was 109 yards against Seattle. Henry has now also tallied at least 40 receptions in all five of his seasons with New England, the second-longest streak by a Patriots tight end all-time.
Quarterback Drake Maye still managed to lead New England to the win, but finished just outside his usual MVP caliber play with 22 completions on 35 attempts in addition to one interception.
The Pats will next see action against the New York Giants on Dec. 1 in a return to Gillette Stadium.
With this latest win, the Patriots remain alone at the top of the AFC East and are among the best in the league. The Denver Broncos are also in contention with a current 9-2 overall record and return to action following their bye week with a game against the Washington Commanders on Nov. 30.
The Patriots are now 19-10 against the Bengals all-time.
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