TIME: 8:30 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Gillette Stadium (FieldTurf)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by "triple cast," on Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 25-station Bengals radio network.
National Radio: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), James Lofton (analyst), Anthony Becht (sideline reporter) for Westwood One Sports.
TV: NBC broadcast team of Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter) on Cincinnati's Channel 5, Channel 2 in Dayton, Ohio, Channel 18 in Lexington, Ky.
INJURIES
CIN: OUT:DT Brandon Thompson (knee)
DOUBTFUL: Starting WLB Vontaze Burfict (concussion) may miss his second straight game. He did his most work on the field Friday since suffering his second concussion in as many weeks in the Sept. 14 win over Atlanta. Starting WR Marvin Jones (ankle) looked ready to play his first game since breaking his foot Aug. 9. But he looks to be out again after tweaking his ankle Monday. Starting RG Kevin Zeitler (calf) but he could be ready next week after going on the side this week. Thompson looks like he'll need a few more weeks.
QUESTIONABLE: Backup LE Margus Hunt (shoulder) went limited Thursday and Friday.
PROBABLE: WR A.J. Green (toe) surfaced on the report for the first time this week Friday when he went limited. Backup RB Rex Burkhead (knee) practiced all week as he looks to make his season debut after spraining his MCL Aug. 16. Backup LB Sean Porter (hamstring) practiced all week and is ready to make his season debut. Starting SLB Emmanuel Lamur (concussion) went full this week. S George Iloka (abdomen) went full Friday after being limited Thursday and DL Robert Geathers (toe) went limited Thursday and Friday.
NE: OUT: Backup S Nate Ebner (finger) and backup OL Cameron Fleming (finger)
QUESTIONABLE: Starting LB Jamie Collins (thigh), starting LB Don't'a Hightower (knee), starting DE Chandler Jones (shoulder), backup CB Alfonzo Dennard (shoulder), all went limited Thursday and Friday. Backup DE Dominique Easley (knee) was added to the report after he went limited Friday.
» Complete Injury Report
THE SERIES
Patriots lead 14-9, 8-2 at home.
NOTEWORTHY
»» The game pits the two NFL coaches who have been with their teams the longest. Bill Belichick has been with New England since 2000 and is coaching the Patriots in his 229th regular-season game. Marvin Lewis, who joined the Bengals in 2003, is coaching his 180th.
»» As a youngster Belichick attended Bengals founder Paul Brown's training camps when Brown coached in Cleveland and became a lifetime fan. When Belichick tied Brown on the all-time list for most career wins on Nov. 14, 2010 in Pittsburgh, he went to Heinz Field wearing Brown's signature fedora.
»» Belichick's first Super Bowl championship season began at Paul Brown Stadium in a 23-17 loss to the Bengals on Sept. 9, 2001 when Jon Kitna outpitched Drew Bledsoe and future Patriot Corey Dillon rushed for 104 yards while Tom Brady watched.
»» Remember former Brown University fullback James Develin? He was a Bengal who spent the final five games of the 2010 season and all of 2011 on the practice squad. Since 2013 he's played in all 20 games for the Patriots with eight starts.
»» Bengals first-round pick Darqueze Dennard and the Patriots' Alfonzo Dennard, also a cornerback, are cousins although they pronounce their names differently. Darqueze goes by De-NARD and his cousin answers to DENN-erd.
»» Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons goes against his mentor, Patriots special teams coach Scott O'Brien. Simmons worked with O'Brien in Baltimore in 1998 before they went to Carolina for the next four seasons. Simmons first got to know O'Brien in Belichick's 1994 training camp when Belichick was the head coach of the Browns.
»» On his 27th birthday, Bengals returner Brandon Tate returns to Foxboro, where the Patriots drafted him in the third round in 2009. It's also where he stunned the Bengals in 2010 when he returned the second half kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in New England's 38-24 win on Opening Day.
»» Also on that day in Gillette, the Bengals' Jermaine Gresham and the Patriots' Rob Gronkowski, the 2010 draft's two top tight ends, made their debuts. Each scored a TD. Gresham had six catches for 25 yards while Gronkowski's only catch on the day came from a yard out.
»» The first win for Patriots owner Robert Kraft came at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium on Sept. 18, 1994 when Bledsoe passed for 365 yards and wide receiver Michael Timpson and tight end Ben Coates each had more than 100 yards in a 31-28 win over the Bengals.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 6th in scoring, 7th in offense (15th rushing, 11th passing); 1st in scoring defense, 13th in defense (18 th rushing, 15th passing), T-1st in turnover margin at plus-6.
NE: 24th in scoring, 29th in offense (23rd rushing, 30th passing); 14th in scoring defense, 4th in defense (23rd t rushing, first passing), T-7 in turnover margin at plus-3.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 93-90-1 in 12th season, 1-4 vs. Patriots.
NE: Bill Belichick 220-116 in 20th season , 15th with Patriots at 183-71; 13-4 vs. Bengals; 4-1 vs. Lewis.
WEATHER
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for a chilly, mostly clear night in Foxboro, Mass. The game kicks off in 53-degree weather with a southwest wind of six miles per hour. No chance of rain with temperatures falling to 48 degrees by the end of the game.
NUMBERS GAME
39-50 Bengals road record under Marvin Lewis
82-15 Patriots record at Gillette since it opened in 2002
0-4 Lewis' record in Sunday night road games
19-25 – Lewis' October record
37-9 Patriots' October record since 2003
31 Consecutive home wins for the Patriots against AFC teams in the regular season
9 Consecutive regular-season home wins for the Bengals against AFC teams for second longest streak in NFL.
11/30/08 Last AFC home loss for Patriots vs. Steelers
21-11 Bengals' home record vs. AFC since 11/30/08
15-10 Bengals QB Andy Dalton's road record, second best in NFL since 2011
17-9 New England QB Tom Brady's road record, best in the NFL since 2011
52 Dalton's NFL start on Sunday night
52 Brady's consecutive game streak with TD passes the Bengals snapped last season
42 Patriots streak of home games with at least one TD pass, longest since the merger.
5 TD passes for Dalton in six prime-time games
10 TD passes for Brady in four games vs. Bengals
33 Wins quarterbacked by Dalton, third most in NFL since 2011
34 Wins quarterbacked by the Packers' Aaron Rodgers **since 2011, second most in NFL
**39 Wins quarterbacked by Brady since 2011, most in the NFL
116-9 Catches and TDs for Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham since 2012
107-18 Catches and TDs for Patriots TERob Gronkowski since 2012
38-1 Patriots record with 100-yard rusher under Belichick
36-7 Bengals record with 100-yard record under Lewis
