Hoyer: Three keys to Pats victory over Bengals in Week 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
“So you’re telling me there’s a chance?”
The New England Patriots are heavy underdogs for Sunday’s regular-season opener in Cincinnati, but an upset isn’t out of the realm of possibility. The matchup will come down to three important factors, according to former Pats quarterback Brian Hoyer. If New England accomplishes all three tasks, it could shock the NFL world to start the 2024 season.
Hoyer shared his three keys to a Patriots victory over the Bengals during Wednesday’s episode of The Gameplan:
1. Protect the football
“A +1 turnover ratio equals 70 percent win probability. A +2 equals 83.9 (percent). So just by doing that, you’re giving yourself a great chance to win,” Hoyer said. “The thing with the Patriots, the way they’re built this year, great defense, great scheme, a lot of continuity there. Offense, new system, new quarterback, a lot of new players.
“There’s a cliche saying, ‘End every drive with a kick whether that’s a field goal, a punt, an extra point.’ Whatever it may be, keep the ball out of the Bengals’ hands and you’re going to have a really good chance of winning the game.”
2. Establish the run game
“This has much been talked about in the preseason about the run game, the West Coast run game,” Hoyer said. “This outside zone, inside zone. It sets up these big, explosive pass plays. One that comes to mind is Drake Maye‘s play against the Commanders in the last preseason game. …
“A big thing in this system is using plays like this to skip third down. The Bengals defense is a really good third-down defense, brings a lot of crazy different pressure. So if you can hit a play like this and move 30, 40 yards down the field, that’s skipping two, three third-down plays.
“This guy had 18 sacks last year,” Hoyer said. “This has been a big topic this offseason, is how are we gonna configure the offensive line? Who’s the left tackle gonna be? Well, you can handle this guy other than just by the tackle. You can help with chips, you can help with slams, you can put an extra tight end over there. You’re basically gonna throw the kitchen sink at this guy. Get in his head. Know that someone’s gonna be there all day.
“And secondly, coach (Lou) Anarumo’s blitz packages. He’s been known to have some exotic blitz packages. One key thing that I think will really benefit the Patriots is (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt was in Cleveland for several years. He knows this guy really well. And Jacoby Brissett played two games against Anarumo’s defense a few years ago.”
Watch Hoyer’s full Week 1 breakdown in the video above or the YouTube video below:
