Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - SPIRALING: Red-Hot Patriots vs. Short-Handed Bengals, Key Matchups & Effort Problems

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

The New England Patriots have surge to the top of the AFC with Drake Maye entering the MVP conversation, while the Cincinnati Bengals spiral after three straight losses and Ja'Marr Chase’s suspension. Can Joe Flacco and a depleted Bengals offense find answers against Mike Vrabel’s rejuvenated Patriots, or will Cincinnati’s tackling woes continue to haunt them? James Rapien and Nick Cattles break down key matchups like Christian Gonzalez vs. Tee Higgins, the impact of Milton Williams’ injury up front, and the Bengals’ desperate need for defensive improvement. Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Patriots are the hottest team in the NFL. They're looking to stay hot. Meanwhile, the Bengals, they've lost three straight. It's time to break it all down on a special locked on crossover, locked on Bengals, locked on Patriots right now. Locked on NFL crossover. Part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day.

I again, everyone. And welcome into a special edition of the Locked on Bengals and Locked on Patriots podcast here. It's a special crossover Thursday. He's Nick Cattels of Lockdown Patriots. I'm James Rappen of Lockdown, Bengals, and two teams going in in much different directions, Nick on Sunday. We're going to dive into all things Bengals and Patriots coming up.

Today's show is brought to you, as always, by Prize Picks. Download the Price Picks app today. Use code locked on NFL and get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Shout out to all of our everydayers listening and watching and become an everyday. are right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network on the planet. And Nick, the Patriots are certainly arguably the number one football team in the planet right now. They've won eight straight games. They're nine and two.

Drake May has captured the league by storm this year. Mike Vrable and his return to New England has certainly set the table and put the Patriots in position to throw in the Bills in the AFC East. what's it been like? What has even this week been like as the Patriots continue to roll? Well, it's good to do this with you here, James. First time we're working together. So I'm happy to be joining you here on the crossover.

It's been a crazy, crazy turnaround, man. You know, I had the Patriots before the season kicked off winning nine games. I had them at nine and eight looking at the schedule. And, you know, I tweeted this morning, and this is obviously where we're talking here on Wednesday. So I tweeted this morning like, hey, you know, my prediction, obviously, pretty, pretty perfect time to appreciate this turnaround since they're nine and two and have already won as many games as I thought they would win the entire season. I did put as part of that prediction, though, that if Drake May made a huge leap and the team stayed pretty much healthy, I thought they had a chance to win 11 games given the schedule. So I wouldn't say shocked if they finish with, you know, 11 wins. but now we're in the territory of maybe 12, 13.

Now we're getting a little crazy. So it's been an impressive turnaround. Drake May, Mike Rable, the two biggest reasons for that turnaround, James. And Drake May, you know, I thought if it was by the end of the year and he was in the top 10 quarterback conversation closer to 10 than five, it would have been a big win for the Patriots. The fact that he is in the MVP conversation and maybe even leading the MVP race right now after 11 weeks, it's frankly stunning. And I think Patriots fans are obviously thrilled.

But you look forward and you try to figure out what this schedule is going to look like with Buffalo and Baltimore after the buy. And of course, you've got to finish strong here the last two weeks because this team, you know, they've been dealing with it a little bit on the injury on the injury front and not having a buy week until week 14 could be tough on the body and the mind. Yeah, I think I'm not surprised that they. that they've turned it around. But to your point, like it's been a good team, competitive team.

Yeah. But I didn't see this. I didn't think that we were going to see Drake May MVP, right? And see a team that when you look at it, not just good defensively, but offensively, Stefan Diggs, at least from my vantage point,

seems like he's that guy again. Maybe he's not peak Stefan Diggs, but he's making plays. Travion Henderson, someone people here in Ohio, certainly know really, really well. And I know I'm a big draft guy. Locked on Bengals, listeners know that and viewers.

He was held in super high regard in NFL circles. And so I know the Bengals had him high on their board and certainly round two would have been in consideration had he made it to them. He didn't. He goes to New England and it takes him a little bit, but it seems like he's hit his stride as well. So it's not like it's just defense in Mike Vrable and the Patriots. Like this offense in this, this is why this matchup is.

pretty scary. A bad Steelers offense was good in the second half with Mason Rudolph a few days ago against this Bengals defense. Meanwhile, you look at it now and it's a real quarterback, real offensive weapons and a unit that's rolling. Yeah, Trayvion Henderson, the last couple of weeks, as you mentioned, really got it going a little bit, the big plays in Tampa. I thought, you know, one of his touchdown runs against the Jets on Thursday night was, honestly, his best touchdown. run of the year. Not even if you take away the flashy, you know, big touchdown runs against Tampa, I thought one of the touchdown runs against the Jets, I think it was his first one where he showed patience and he kind of waited for his blockers to set up and, you know, made a move and then he's in the end zone. I thought that was a pretty impressive run. One of the things with Trayvion

Henderson so far has been, you know, the past protection has not been consistent. I thought he had one of his better nights against the Jets in that category. And I also think he was just showing your typical rookie season impatience. You know, he was running into the back of offensive linemen, not taking a breath, letting things develop in front of him. He has started to do that. I think he's been much better the last few weeks. But really, you know, James, when you look at this team, I think the biggest story is

defensively this week because Milton Williams is going to be out. He's going to be out for the next four games, not weeks, games, because he was placed on the IR. Some people think that means four weeks. No, it's four games. So when you add the buy week in there, he'll be out the next five weeks, which I think tells us how significant

of a high ankle sprain he has. And he has been, Milton Williams has been their best defensive player. It has not been Christian Gonzalez. It has been Milton Williams, hands down every week, impact player, interior defensive linemen against the run, and the past. He's been simply terrific. I mean, we're talking six, seven, eight impact plays,

almost every single week. So it's going to be fascinating to see how this defensive front seven, who have had some issues the last couple weeks against the run, how they deal with no Milton Williams. I would imagine Christian Barmore likely replaces him at the three technique. The one good thing, James, is the Patriots. If you're going to lose somebody on this roster right now due to an injury, the interior defensive line actually is really their deepest position.

Kyrie's Tonk has been a revelation. What's that? I said, what's that like having a deep defensive tackle room? Go ahead. It's a new experience for the Patriots over the past few years. I'll tell you that. But Kyrie's Tonga, who was a one-year, you know, free agent kind of, you know, low-level deal as far as money goes, just a veteran guy who I thought was going to be a run stuffer

and maybe play 15, 20 snaps a game. He has been a revelation against the pass and the run. He's been excellent. Corey Durden is a guy they picked up right before the six. season off the scrap heap. He's actually been really good the last few weeks. And then you've got Joshua Farmer, who they drafted in April, who has shown a couple splash plays here and there. And they got, I believe, old friend Eric Gregory in the mix as well. So they actually have some good depth there. But it's going to be tough replacing Milton Williams, who I think has been the second

best player on this football team behind Drake May. Just saying that, I know there are going to be Bengals fans that are like, that's why you go get the disrupting defensive tackle and he's worth all the money and free agency and you go do it. It's, uh, so that's one. You could look back at the draft when the Bengals picked Joseph Osai over Milton Williams and say, man, another missed opportunity. Obviously the biggest story this week for the Bengals, though, is, is the Jamar Chase situation. Yeah.

And, uh, him getting suspended. He obviously appealed. I'm not sure anyone really thought that he would, he would win that appeal. I get why. I, and I think you could make the case if you were a defense attorney, uh, as to why it shouldn't, uh, be a full game and $57,000. well, it held up. And so now not only do we have a defense that we could get into that I'm sure Patriots fans are very aware of how bad the Bengals defense has been.

But now you have an offense, not just without its best player. Jamar Chase is their best player without Joe Burrow. And so without him, how do you manage that, navigate that world? Not having to deal with Milton Williams helps for sure because interior pressure when you have a Joe Flacco in there. Or let's just say on the very small chance, it's hobbled Joe Burrow. I think that's very unlikely, but let's just throw it out there in case. You don't want interior pressure. So I do think that's a key, but not having Jamar Chase, curious to see how this offense works

because they're built around Jamar and really the quarterback. And then after that, it's T. Higgins and Chase Brown and everything else. And so without him, they've won games without him before. I think asking them to win without Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase is uncharted territory, especially for a 3 and 17. That's one in seven since week three. Yeah, I mean, you know,

obviously it's a big break for the Patriots, Jamar Chase to be out, even though he was pretty invisible against the Steelers last weekend, which was surprising because he was so devastating in that matchup earlier in the year. But, you know, pass rush-wise, I'll just tell you,

I know people will look at the Patriots past rush and you look at pressure rate, next-gen stats, and their 11th, I think, in pressure rate. Their pass rush hasn't been great. It's been very inconsistent. Harold Landry, ever since being rolled up on against Tennessee, has not looked like the same guy.

Caleb on Chase on has been really good, but the past couple weeks, he's been a little bit more hit or miss. And so those guys need to get going. And it'll be interesting to see if they can get that pass rush without Milton Williams, what they can do against the Sincere offensive line, as you know, and everybody knows, has not been the greatest O line in football this year. Yeah, they haven't. They've shown flashes. I think they kind of took a bit of a step back last week.

And obviously without Jamar Chase, who knows, Joe Flacco might have to hold the ball longer. Whoever's at quarterback for the Bengals, it's the last time I'll tease it. Whoever's that quarterback for the Bengals, have to hold it a bit longer. But up next, let's dive into some of these matchups and see if the Bengals have an advantage anywhere. If they have an advantage anywhere, we'll do that coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by prize picks. You and I make decisions every day, but on prize picks being right, well, it can get you paid. Don't miss any of the excitement this sports season.

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All right, Nick, let's keep the conversation going here with some matchups. and you mentioned it, this Bengals offensive line. I think it's such a key one each and every week because if they hold up and they're able to give Joe Flacco time, even without Jamar Chase, it's like, okay, well, Christian Gonzalez versus T. Higgins is going to be mighty, mighty fun. But this is a passing offense that has some other options. They do have Chase Brown. I think Noah fans been a nice addition to the team.

There are ways they should be able to move the ball, but that'll be able to move the ball. but that all goes out the window if Joe Flacco has to hold the ball for an extra second without Jamar Chase and the offensive line isn't able to hold up. And so that's a huge matchup here in my path of finding out if the Bengals can hang around in this game. I looked at the Fandall odds. It was seven and a half points right now in favor of the Patriots. That almost feels a little light for me. But regardless, I think that the offensive front for the Bengals, they're going to have to find a way to hold up and give Joe Flacko an extra half second or so if they're going to be successful. Yeah, I mean, you look at any game, right? If you're not getting pressure on the

quarterback consistently, it's really difficult for your defensive backs to cover for long periods of time. So trying to get that pressure for the Patriots is crucial. I think Christian Barmore is the guy that they're going to lean on. And last week against the Jets, Milton Williams again missed the vast majority of that game after leaving early with the ankle. And Christian Barmore did kind of switch over to the three technique. And towards the end of the game, especially, he was a monster. I mean, he had, you know, five or six pressures in that game. And I think two or three of them all came in like one shot in a series of first,

second, third down. He was in the backfield three straight times. So Christian Barmore has the ability to be one of the best interior defensive linemen in football. He got off to a great start, kind of slowed down against Atlanta and a couple of couple weeks there, but he was much better last week. They're going to need Christian Barmore to provide that pressure in the middle of the line to help out, because again, the edges have not been consistent lately. So Christian Barmore is a big name for Sunday.

Something I'm looking at, you know, you mentioned Christian Gonzalez against T. Higgins. I'm wondering if the Patriots are going to do that. You know, I don't. Well, I'm not sure. I'm not sure how they're going to defend T. Higgins. You know, before the season kicked off, Mike Vrable talked about cat coverage, which is your corner saying, I got that cat. You get that cat and shadowing guys. They haven't done that consistently. And so I'm not really sure what the approach will be. I don't know if you'll have Christian Gonzalez, you know,

shadowing T. Higgins throughout the game. I don't know if they will decide to play Carlton Davis across from T. Higgins and double Higgins over the top with safety help. I don't know if they will just play alignment and play sides where it's, hey, Christian, you stick to your side and Carlton Davis sticks to his side. They've done that as well. So one of my, you know, as part of the marquee matchups, defending Higgins is fascinating to me to see what they do.

Yeah. I think it's a huge one because if you tell me T. Higgins has 150 yards, 10 catches, and two touchdowns. And well, then the Bengals very well could be in the game. If you're the Patriots, you look at it and you're like, all right, well, no offense, Chase Brown. I said some positives about those guys. Andrei Yosevash has had a couple of nice weeks and in key,

catches. It's like, all right, well, what else is there? They're built to win through the air. All you got to do is take away the run, which isn't the hardest thing to do against the Bengals and then take away T. Wouldn't be shocked at all if they go the other way. You're right. And just say, all right, Carlton Davis and a safety over the top and treat him like a one, number one receiver. But then you have your best corner on Andre Yosevash. Yeah. your best corner on that second receiver that could be the security blanket for Joe Flacco in a lot of scenarios when that pass rush is trying to get there. And that might be the better strategy.

I think it's worth noting just overall passing game-wise, the Bengals did activate Mike Gassicki on Wednesday and activate his practice window. Not sure if he's going to be ready to go for Sunday. We haven't heard from Zach Taylor as we record this. I think knowing him, he's going to be pretty non-committal and want to get. Gassiki on the practice field just to see how he performs. Yeah. That would be a big, a big addition for this passing offense because of how versatile he is

as a receiving threat and how they use him, not just in the slot and at tight end, but certainly they have packages for him where he lines up at the outside spot as well. I'm sure there are Patriots fans watching this and their head starts spinning and they start getting queasy thinking about Mike Gassiki because it brings them back to the terrible years of the Patriots. but I think it's a good point. You know, the Patriots haven't always been great against tight ends this year. They haven't always been great against running backs in the passing game.

They're linebackers, Robert Spillane, and now Jack Gibbons, who has replaced Christian Ellis, who's been out the last couple weeks with a hip injury. I do think Jack Gibbons has done pretty well. He's been great against screens. He's blown up two or three screens since he started. But there have been a little bit of, you know, there's been a little bit of an issue there, a little soft in the coverage at linebacker and a little soft in the coverage at safety as well. So I do think if you can get Gassiki back and then you roll out there with Mike Gassicki and Noah Fant,

I think if you try to lean into the two tight end set against the Patriots defense, you might have some success there. And that goes back to, you know, Kyrie's Tonga and Christian Barmore have to get that push against, you know, Dylan Fairchild and whoever's going to play right guard. I know Jaylon Rivers left against Pittsburgh. with an injury. I thought Rivers was absolutely terrible against the Steelers. You know,

it should, it should be Dalton Reisner. We'll see if they do it, but it should be Dolton-Mis. Watching that game, I would say, I agree with you wholeheartedly. It should be Dalton-Risner.

And, you know, can you force Flacco out of the pocket? Can you force him to be uncomfortable? Because, you know, Chase Brown, and if you get those two tight ends, you could work on something.

The other thing I'm looking at, too, quickly here is a marquee matchup. You know, James, I was watching that game, as I mentioned, and Miles Murphy jumped out at me. I mean, he was a monster against the Steelers, just consistently wrecking the tackles in that game. And so it'll be an interesting, because I know they move him around a little bit, it'll be interesting to see Will Campbell versus Miles Murphy.

And, you know, because if Will Campbell can handle Miles Murphy, I feel like you'll handle the Cincinnati pass rush since Trey Hendrickson's not going to be back this week. So you talk about protecting your quarterback. and giving Drake May some time to pick apart that defense. Will Campbell versus Miles Murphy, and I'm sure Will Campbell will get some help from Josh McDaniels as well on the edge. But that's the matchup to me. If you can limit that matchup, I feel really good about the Patriots' ability to move the ball.

Yeah, you saw Miles Murphy's finest hour to this point. I mean, that was really the breakout. At least that's what the Bengals are hoping for, is that's the moment you point to and you're like, oh, the light, it came on. He's that guy. That's why we put it to 28th. He was. And it gets overshadowed because of the final score and all of those things.

I'm glad you pointed it out because I think a lot of our listeners and viewers are going to be like, oh, well, yeah, he was because we had a film review on Tuesday. And obviously there's not a lot of optimism. But that was an optimistic part of it is what Miles did. There was one play. I just want to jump in for a second. There was one play that stood out to me where. it wasn't like one of those splash plays.

And I wouldn't even give him a plus on the on the play itself. But I kind of give him the plus for hustle where there was a play towards the right of the offensive line and he chased it down. He came all the way back from behind and made a play. You know, maybe he got a half a tackle as, you know, as credit. But I thought, you know, a guy that was winning in the pass rush as much as he was to show that hustle and resiliency to chase that play down, I thought. was a really good sign for him.

Yeah, I think if he has some wins against Will Campbell, Bengals fans would be really excited. And there was plenty, there's been plenty of games where it doesn't feel like you even notice him. Yeah. And so sometimes that's what happens with these pass rushers. If the light bulb just kicks on. And if it does, that would be huge for the Bengals,

not just this year or for Sunday, but moving forward. Right. I have a key matchup, and it really doesn't have anything to do with the Patriots. But we got to get to that and then talk about what needs to happen, probably for the Bengals to make this a competitive game. So we'll do that as we keep this crossover Thursday rolling here on the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's show is brought to you by Fandul.

Like I said, I checked the odds right before we started the show seven and a half, the Bengals seven and a half point underdogs. And maybe you think that's not enough. I know that was my initial thought is, all right, so no Jamar Chase. If Joe Flacco's starting, all these things will, why wouldn't the Patriots be favored by more? maybe you're feeling that or maybe it's the other way regardless fandle is the place to go and it's not just nfl it's NBA as well the NBA season is in full swing and even if you miss the start of the game you can live bet they have same game parlays they have everything you need to wager on your team or on your players with different prop bets with fandle and right now fandle is giving new customers $300

in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins that's $300 and free money in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. All you have to do is head to fandle.com and sign up and play your game with Fandle, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right, real quick, the key matchup that really has nothing to do with the Patriots is this Bengals defense and tackling. They cannot tackle. Can they tell?

Will they be able to tackle? It's a Bengals versus tackling and 109 missed tackles in 10 games, Nick. And those are the ones that count as mistackles, not the ones that they didn't even get close on because they got shaken out of their boots. I mean, they are so bad at the basics of tackling that I have to mention it and hammer it home because Mason Rudolph was 12 of 16 last week and had all these over 100 passing yards, touchdown. And he threw it two yards within two yards of the line of scrimmage almost on every play on all 12 of those completely. And it's catch, run, multiple mistackles. That would be something certainly that I'd be doing if I was the Patriots because Drake may might not have to chuck it downfield for the Patriots to put up 40 on Sunday.

I'm glad you brought that up because on Tuesday I tweeted at Nix C Radio, if any Bengals fans want to follow me for no reason. I tweeted yesterday. I watched C-Pittsburg from Sunday, colon, since he is one. one of the worst tackling teams I've ever watched. Borderline embarrassing. Honestly, the way it looked, and I'm not saying this is what it is. But it honestly felt like, especially the defensive backs,

felt like they made some business decisions. Felt like they did not even want to be physical at all. And the idea of physicality scared them away. I mean, it was bad. It was bad. It was, you know, I had, you know, read about the SINC defense and I had, you know, obviously watched a little bit here and there. But watching it on film, it's an experience, James. It is an experience.

You're telling me. You're telling me. I just, and, you know, one of my three keys is the Patriots tight ends, Hunter Henry, maybe Austin Hooper, if he comes back from a concussion again, we're recording this before practice on Wednesday. So I'm not sure. I know there's been some word that it could be optimistic about him coming back. But Austin Hooper, Hunter Henry, and your running back, Travionn Henderson, if Ramandre Stevenson is back this weekend, you know, getting those guys in matchups against the linebackers and the safeties because the second and third level tackling is so bad.

It should lead to chunk plays. I mean, not only was the tackling just, you know, what it was. but I also thought it looked like there were at least three or four occasions. And I'm a Notre Dame fan, so I know my guy, Al Golden is there now. But it looked like, you know, there were three or four occasions where guys just didn't know what they were supposed to be doing, especially the linebackers, just kind of lost in coverage looking around. And I'm telling you, with that kind of miscommunication, that kind of tackling, Josh McDaniels and Drake May will obviously take advantage of that.

Yeah, they will. Yes, they will. Yes, they will. So we referenced it a few times. I haven't been to the facility yet after we record. I'm going to head down there. And Zach Taylor talks a few hours after we're recording this. He's probably not going to say one way or another.

They should Ben's Chino Stone this week. Oh, my God. There's no way he should start again. He played every snap the other day. I wasn't going to bring up his name. I didn't want to put him out there in the crosshairs as bad. But he was atrocious. He looked like he didn't want to be out there at times.

Yeah. And after the game, he said, yeah, I think we played better. And they only gave up 20 points as a defense. So technically he's right. But when you do what he did in that game and the definition of business decisions while you're trying to tackle Darnell Washington and you're cowering as you do it, like just ridiculous. So by the way, if you really want a fun watch, watch just the fourth quarter,

defense only of that Jets game. that really set the tone for the Bengals season. It gets worse, my friend. It does get worse. My goodness, man. No, I think that would be what, like if I'm doing keys, one, tackle, do the basic things on defense. Yeah.

You see the ball carrier, get him down on the ground. Hold on to him if he's just untackleable, because apparently that's what happens when you play the Bengals. You just can't tackle with one guy. Fine. Hold on to them until other guys can get there. They're going to have to force some turnover. I think that's because they're not the better team.

And when you're not the better team, you're going to have to find an equalizer. And so jumping on them early, getting a pick six, forcing a fumble, doing something like that to get some momentum early would be huge. And then it really, it's going to be producing offensive plays without Jamar Chase. Can someone step up? Who's it going to be? Is it going to be a cast of characters? Will it be the T. Higgin show? It's going to have to be something.

but all of those things need to happen if the Bengals are going to be competitive in this one. As you talked about hanging on to somebody, as you waited for somebody to help you to tackle a guy, I just, I'm sorry. I just, I can't shake it. I can't. Since you brought it up, you ruined me during this podcast because now I just have these visions of what I witnessed. And there were multiple times where CINCNCNCNus were literally hanging on a guy's cleat as he was dragging him. Yeah. But that's better than what Gino did, you know.

That is true. That is true. So you mentioned, you mentioned turnovers. A low bar. It's a low bar. One time he just kind of ran and looked like he was like, I'm going to look like I'm going to try to get into a pile here and make a tackle on the edge. But I'm just going to kind of like, I don't know, rub against the dude with my chest. Yeah. It was indescribable.

You talked about taking care of the football. That's one of my keys. You and I are on the same page. You know, if Drake May can take care of the football, if the Patriots offense doesn't turn it over, Drake May should eat. I mean, he should absolutely eat in this game. And, you know, going against teams like Atlanta, who, you know, not the best team, but a pretty challenging defense, going against Cleveland, not a great team, but a pretty challenging defense.

Tampa, pretty challenging defense. It felt like against the Jets, Drake May kind of, I don't know, I don't want to say, like, it's not that he was taking it for granted. I don't want to say put his feet up, but you could definitely tell he could exhale against that Jets defense and go, okay, now I don't have to deal with all these, you know, crazy things going on in front of me right now. I can kind of pick apart these guys.

So as long as Drake May doesn't try to force the big play and not turn it over, they should move the ball. And it goes hand in hand. You talk about Cincinnati. My final key is, you know, you talk about Cincinnati. And I do think Cincinnati will have opportunities to move the football. The Patriots defense tends to play.

a lot of zone coverage that's soft, and they give up a lot underneath. I don't know if they'll do that this week, but they kind of just allow that to happen. But the red zone defense has to be better. The Patriots are the second worst red zone defense in football. More than 70% of the time teams get into the red zone. They score the last three weeks,

it's been 75% of the time, which is inexcusable. And I think it could be the fatal flaw for this football team. If they're going to lose, aside from injuries and stuff, and the playoffs and all that and not look like the same team, I think it's going to be their red zone inefficiency. They've been terrible defensively, and they've been middle of the pack offensively. So if Sintzzi moves the ball,

they've got to be much better inside the 20. And the Patriots, if you drive against this Sinci defense, which James, you and I both believe that will happen on Sunday, consistently, if they don't turn the ball over, you've got to finish those drives and get into the end zone. Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's huge.

I mean, if they get down there, they're going to have to take advantage. They're going to have to score a bunch of points, I think, to be in this one. The Bengals have given up. I think it's up to eight straight now. 27 points are more in eight straight. And that's not all defense. There's been some turnovers in there, no doubt, but it's mostly defense and it's mostly

mistackles. And getting Remandre Stevenson back. Like, this could be like the Ramandre Stevenson game. Last week was the Kenneth Gainwell game. It isn't necessarily the star guy. Sometimes it's the backup. And Jalen Warren got nicked up and that's part of it. But still,

Gainwell had a touchdown on the Steelers opening drive. So it's- Covering him out of the backfield would probably be a good idea. I'm just like it if you're- Basic stuff. I mean, just leaking out, you know, it just, oh, let's pitch and catch. So yeah, this, this div,

it definitely doesn't look like Al Golden's Notre Dame defense from last year. No. To your point. I don't know how they salvage it, but it's a tough test one that we're obviously going to have you covered on, on Locked-on Bengals. Will the Patriots keep it rolling? and Nick's going to have you covered all week long.

And boy, oh boy, two teams going in different directions, regardless. That's the beauty of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. For Nick Cattels, I'm James Rapine. Thank you so much for watching and listening to a special Lockdown crossover here on the Lockdown Podcast Network.