I get there’s a bold claim in that headline.
Or better yet, I’m taking a sabbatical.
Expecting the best was my default setting for 20 years and it served me well.
But I had to go back to my factory options about 13 losses in 17 games ago.
But it’s such an abstract argument at this point.
We don’t know who’ll be on the offensive line or where they’ll be lining up.
The offensive coordinator hasn’t called plays on a regular basis in 15 years.
Practically the entire wide receiver room at the moment has less than three years of experience.
So there’s too much left to sort out to have the first clue what they’re capable of.
Not to mention the quarterback position.
Which, one could reasonably say without fear of being accused of sensationalizing it, matters.
But there’s one other thing we know about Jacoby Brissett.
He has a history of playing well against Cincinnati.
And the coaching staff has had success against them as well.
Given the Bengals recent postseason success, you might’ve thought it would be the other way around.
Instead, Cleveland has been a thorn in the Bengals side, like the Dolphins to the dynasty-era Patriots.
…
To add another layer, starting QB Jacoby Brissett beat the Bengals with the Browns in 2022.
And one more nugget:
Do you want one more trend that says the Patriots have a chance?
The Bengals in the Burrow era are slow starters.
Burrow is just 1-3 in season-openers, and the Bengals are 6-7-1 in September games since 2020.
Especially as 7.5 point favorites against an opponent no one expects anything from.
Giving the Top 10 defense DeMarcus Covington inherited one fewer major pain in its collective ass to worry about.
I don’t know how much faith we can put in a Jacoby Brissett start from two seasons ago.
It’s going to need to win matchup-specific games.
And this one at Cincy might be one of them, staring us right in the face.
Weirder things have happened.
That’s the best I can manage right now.
