How sustainable is the Patriots’ success? Curran says Originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
The final result of 16-10 is not enough The New England Patriots’ victory in Week 1 Justice. Jerod Mayo’s team played a near-perfect game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
There were game-changing plays on offense, defense and special teams. Tight end Hunter Henry deflected a would-be interception by Jacoby Brissett and the Patriots finished the drive with a field goal. Safety Kyle Dugger forced a fumble at the goal line to prevent a Bengals touchdown. Long snapper Joe Cardona forced another fumble on a punt return, resulting in another field goal. Cornerback Jonathan Jones’ fourth-down stop in the third quarter resulted in three more points for New England.
It was a gutsy performance and a feel-good win, but are these types of victories sustainable? NBC Sports Boston Patriots insider Tom E. Curran shared his thoughts on Tuesday’s victory. Quick tilts.
“It’s impossible to anticipate every week that you’re going to make plays that save points right away,” Curran said. “Like that Dugger play, the guy’s at the door and you make a play like that. You can’t anticipate that. You can’t count on Hunter Henry having a chance to make a smart play in the end zone and get an interception on one of the only bad passes Jacoby Brissett had.”
“But what this reminds us of and should remind us of as we move forward is that we have to live with reality a little bit with this Patriots team. It’s an incredible win, what we accomplished on the road against an elite team that didn’t play at its best, but an elite team. But the difference was minimal. So we’re going to have to win by those margins every week.”
Curran isn’t convinced the Patriots can make enough plays to get close to playoff contention. However, Sunday’s performance showed they can make this season more interesting than many anticipated at the start of the campaign.
“I don’t think this team is going to go 8-9 or 9-8,” Curran added. “But there are going to be a lot of games like this that are going to be decided by those margins. Can they win enough to get to five, six or seven? That’s the question people weren’t asking before: ‘Yes, they can.’
“We know momentum is so important in sports. And culturally, what it does is it conveys to this team that Jerod Mayo, Eliot Wolf, Scott Peters, the offensive line coach, (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt, (defensive coordinator) DeMarcus Covington, they know what they’re doing.”
The Patriots Mayonnaise drizzled with Gatorade and awarded him the game ball after his first career win as a head coach. They will look to celebrate their first win at Gillette Stadium when they host the Seattle Seahawks in Foxboro next Sunday.
Kickoff for Week 2 is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (US Eastern Time).
You can watch the full episode of Quick tilts With Curran and co-host Kayla Burton below or on YouTube: