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OCTOBER 6, 2013
TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Paul Brown Stadium (Synthetic)
LOCAL RADIO: Play-by-play Dan Hoard and analyst Dave Lapham led by Triple Cast of WLW 700 AM, ESPN AM 1530 and WEBN FM 102.7 on the 25-station Bengals radio network.
TV: CBS team of Greg Gumbel play-by-play and Rich Gannon analyst. Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, Channel 27 in Lexington, KY
INJURIES
CIN: Starting CB Leon Hall (hamstring) and his backup in the slot, CB Brandon Ghee (thigh) are listed as doubtful. Hall returned for the first time in 12 days, but he was limited Friday. Ghee didn't work Friday. Starting S Reggie Nelson (hamstring), who didn't play last week, was limited all week and is probable. Backup CB and slot corner Dre Kirkpatrick (hamstring) practiced Thursday and Friday, and was limited and listed as questionable. S Chris Crocker, coming out of his second week of practice all year, is next man up in the slot. SAM LB James Harrison (knee) was limited Thursday, went full Friday and is probable. WILL LB Vontaze Burfict (neck) didn't work Thursday, was limited Friday and is probable for Sunday.
NE: OUT: RB Stevan Ridley (knee) with 10 players questionable after they were limited all week headlined by TE Rob Gronkowski (back/forearm) and WR Danny Amendola (groin). Speculation is Gronkowski won't go and if he does it would be limited to possibly something like red-zone situations. Amendola may have a better shot to go. Other key questionable guys who were limited this week: RTSebastian Vollmer (foot), LB Jerod Mayo (ankle), LB Dont'a Hightower (knee), WR Kenbrell Thompkins (shoulder).
» Complete Injury Report
THE SERIES
Patriots lead, 14-8; 2-1 at PBS; 6-6 in Cincinnati
NOTEWORTHY
» The only active Bengals left from New England's last visit, a 34-13 Monday Night Patriotic victory on Oct. 1, 2007, are Leon Hall, LT Andrew Whitworth and DT Domata Peko.
» There is nobody left from the last time the Bengals beat the Pats on Sept. 9, 2001, a 23-17 win on Opening Day at Paul Brown Stadium. QB Jon Kitna won his first game as a Bengal, outdueling Drew Bledsoe, 101.5-94.3 in passer rating, Cincinnati's Corey Dillon rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries, and Bledsoe's second-year backup, Tom Brady, along with offensive lineman Grey Ruegamer, were the only Patriots that didn't play.
» Cincinnati's Giovani Bernard comes into the game leading all rookie running backs with 147 yards on 32 carries, 24 yards ahead of Denver's Montee Ball on seven fewer carries.
» Patriots WR Julian Edelman comes into the game as the NFL's highest career punt return average leader with 13 yards per his 83 returns.
» Sunday is Brady's first start against a Bengals quarterback other thanCarson Palmer.
» In his 19 seasons as an NFL head coach, New England's Bill Belichick has faced Bengals starting QBs Boomer Esiason (1-2), David Klingler (5-0) and Jeff Blake (2-0) while with the Browns and Scott Mitchell (1-0), Kitna (0-1) and Palmer (4-0) while with the Pats.
» Bengals running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis makes his first appearance against his original team and University of Cincinnati rookie free agent WR Kenbrell Thompkins has a homecoming of sorts.
» In his 32nd season as an NFL assistant coach, Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia arrives without newly-retired Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson on the other sideline. They were roommates and captains at Cal Western in the late '60s and it's believed that Scarnecchia has replaced Anderson as the league's longest-tenured assistant with one team in his 23rd straight season with the Pats.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 22nd in scoring, 22nd in offense (22nd rushing, 15th passing); 10th in scoring defense, 13th in defense (T-11th rushing, 13th passing), T-21st in turnover margin at minus-2.
NE: 20th in scoring, 11th in offense (11th rushing, 17th passing); 6th in scoring defense, 16th in defense (14th rushing, 17th passing), T-7th in turnover margin at plus-4.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 81-82-1 in his 11th regular season, 0-4 in postseason; 0-4 vs. Patriots, 0-4 vs. Belichick
NE: Bill Belichick 209-109 in his his 19th season, 18-8 in postseason; 14-3 vs. Bengals; 172-64 in 14th season as Patriots coach, 17-7 in postseason, 5-1 vs. Bengals
WEATHER
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for an 80 percent chance of off-and-on showers with a less than 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Kickoff temperature between 67-70 degrees and winds out of the southwest at about 10 miles per hour.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
» 46-35-1 - Marvin Lewis's home record
» 58-22 - Bill Belichick's road record since '03
» 15-24 - Lewis's record in October
» 35-7 - Belichick's record in October
» 52 - Consecutive games Patriots QB Tom Brady has thrown a TD pass, two from tying Saints QB Drew Brees's record
» 52 - Career TD passes for Bengals QB Andy Dalton in first 36 NFL games
» 52 - Career TD passes for Brady in first 36 NFL games
» 21-15 - Dalton's record in first 36 NFL games
» 24-12 - Brady's record in first 36 NFL games
» 10 - Bengals that entered the NFL as undrafted free agents
» 17 - Patriots that entered the NFL as undrafted free agents
» 7 - Rookies on the Bengals roster
» 13 - Rookies on the Patriots roster
» 31 - Consecutive games the Patriots have forced a turnover
» 0 - Turnovers forced by Bengals last week in Cleveland, breaking streak of 18 straight dating back to '12 opener for getting at least one turnover
» 209 - Wins for Belichick, tying him with Chuck Noll for fifth on the all-time list
» 200 - Combined Bengals wins for head coaches Paul Brown, Sam Wyche and Lewis
» 31 - Average rushes per game for Patriots
» 30 - Average rushes per game for Broncos
» 35 - Average rushes per game for Seahawks
» 25 - Average rushes per game for Bengals
» 20 - Starts for Bengals RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis while with Patriots
» 20 - Green-Ellis's starts for Bengals if he gets nod Sunday
GAME DAY ENTERTIANMENT
» JungleZone: Band – My Sister Sarah
» Anthem: Danny Kaleikini
» Honor Guard: Springdale PD
» Halftime: Ben-Gals cheerleader alumni will perform, plus Around the League in 180 Seconds
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
The Bengals will honor breast cancer awareness this Sunday. In the pregame fan zone area "The Jungle Zone," there will be a Women's Services Van with volunteers distributing information, courtesy of team partner, TriHealth. TriHealth will also be handing out 5,000 pink hats and the Bengals will recognize a 'Care Quarterback' at the game. Pregame, they will honor the Marvin Lewis Community Fund's Pink Football Award Winner with a special presentation, including about 200 Ben-Gal Cheerleader Alumni displaying a large pink ribbon. The Pink Football winner also will deliver the pink coin to midfield for the coin toss.
