Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Shocking Win Vs. Bengals

The Patriots opened their season with a shocking victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.

Yes, we said victory.

New England looked surprisingly competent in the win, kicking off Jerod Mayo's stint in style with a defensive masterclass against what is expected to be one of the better offenses in the entire NFL. Who were the major contributors? Where is there still work to be done?

It's time to examine some studs and duds coming out of the 16-10 verdict:

STUDS

Keion White
White was praised to an obnoxious level throughout the summer, and we were no innocent bystanders, but hopefully you now understand the reason why. New England has placed all sorts of responsibility on the sophomore's shoulders in the absence of Matthew Judon, and he responded beautifully with a pressure-filled outing that included a hand in three sacks on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

Rhamondre Stevenson
The Patriots are going to lean on Stevenson heavily throughout the season, and Sunday was a perfect showcase as to why. New England got tremendous production out of the freshly-paid rusher, who gained 126 total yards on 28 touches, scoring the first touchdown of the season and icing the game in the fourth.

Marcus Jones
Jones missed significant time during training camp, but he didn't miss a beat in his first game action since Week 2 of 2023. The Patriots let the 25-year-old play just about everywhere, as he returned punts, was the primary option in the slot and even got a few reps at deep-third safety.

He put together a few nice plays early, including two tackles to force punts on Cincinnati's first couple of possessions, but it was a fumble recovery before the half that highlighted what he brings to the table. Jones is always in the right place, at the right time.

Chukwuma Okorafor
The Patriots could only stand to watch Okorafor get beat like a drum for so long, replacing him with Vederian Lowe in their second offensive series. Lowe, of course, missed the majority of the last two weeks with an injury, but Okorafor was bad enough for the change to ultimately be made.

Vederian Lowe
Lowe didn't look much better. We all knew left tackle was going to be an issue, but on a day where the team surprised as a whole it was especially noticeable that something needs to change on Jacoby Brissett's blindside.

Marco Wilson
The Patriots called on Wilson as their top depth option in the defensive backfield, and the Bengals took notice. Burrow immediately targeted the 25-year-old when he hit the field, and was able to pick up a chunk penalty after Wilson got caught holding. Cincinnati would go on to score its only touchdown of the game on that drive.

Alex Austin might get the call over Wilson if a similar situation arises next week.