Keion White is a monster and other takeaways from Patriots' Week 1 upset win

BOSTON -- Just one game into his second NFL season, it's clear that Patriots defensive end Keion White is going to be a game-wrecker for the New England defense. White was a quarterback-seeking missile for the Patriots in Sunday's 16-10 upset win over the Bengals in Cincinnati.

White, a second-round pick by Bill Belichick in 2023, racked up 2.5 sacks, three QB hits, and a pair of tackles for a loss for Jerod Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington on Sunday. He was everywhere on the field, and likely caused Joe Burrow to have a few nightmares on Sunday night.

White made his impact felt early, sacking Burrow on Cincinnati's second snap of the game and forcing a fumble -- which Burrow was able to corral. His second sack was shared with Ja'Whaun Bentley, but White manhandled Alex Cappa and shoved him back on the play before falling onto Burrow on a third-and-5.

White's final sack also came on a third down, and it was his most important of the day. The Patriots were hanging onto a 16-7 lead midway through the fourth quarter, with the Bengals finally showing some life on offense. Burrow had them at the New England 31 after scrambling for five yards on a second-and-10, but then White slammed the door shut on the drive.

Feeling pressure from Joshua Uche from the outside, Burrow stepped up in the pocket to hunt for a target downfield. That never materialized because White gobbled him up and took him to the ground, forcing the Bengals to settle for a 51-yard field goal.

With Matthew Judon in Atlanta, the Patriots were going to need other players to step up on defense and generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Covington had the defense mix it up and send pressure from everywhere on Sunday, keeping Burrow on his toes -- at least until someone threw him to the ground.

The defense as a whole played an incredible game on Sunday against a slightly undermanned Bengals team that didn't have No. 2 receiver Tee Higgins. But it has them flying high heading into Week 2, and White should only improve as the season progresses.

"I just try to go fast. I'm not the cleanest pass rusher, I'm not the most technical. I just try to go fast and let everything work out for itself," White said after Sunday's win. "I still have a long way to go personally. I can definitely do better, but you can always do better. But it's Year 2, we're gonna get to it."

Here are the other takeaways from Sunday's upset win in Cincy.  

The Mayo Way

The Patriots really wanted to win this one for Mayo in his first game as an NFL head coach. And the Patriots we saw on Sunday kind of looked like the Patriots we saw under the old guy. 

Stout defense? Check. Strong special teams play? Check. Efficient offense? Check. Protect the ball? Double check.

The Patriots played to their strengths -- control the clock by running the ball and make the Bengals one-dimensional on offense -- and stayed away from their weaknesses.

Players have bought in and are clearly willing to run through a wall -- or in Sunday's case, several Bengals -- for their head coach.

It wasn't art and it was far from perfect. But it got the job done, and gave the Patriots a blueprint to win each week.

Rhamondre Stevenson ran angry

The Patriots couldn't control the game without Rhamondre Stevenson running wild Sunday afternoon. He helped set the tone and control the clock, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown on his 25 carries. He picked up 118 of those yards after contact, forcing 10 missed tackles, according to PFF.

It was clear Stevenson was going to have a big game from his very first carry. He should have lost yards on a second-and-1 rush, but made on guy miss near the line of scrimmage and then delivered a furious stiff-arm for another four yards on a 14-yard scamper. It was the first of four runs by Stevenson that went for 10 or more yards.

His rushing score came on New England's second possession of the game and capped off a 14-play, 80-yard drive that covered half of the first quarter. But his finest work was at the end when Stevenson helped the Patriots bleed out the clock after Zach Taylor opted to punt the ball away with 2:26 left in the game. 

Stevenson ran for 26 yards on that final possession, with a pair of 9-yard, clock-killing runs during the drive. 

Penalties weren't an issue for Patriots

Undrafted free-agent Dell Pettus was flagged for an illegal formation on the opening kick, which was taken an ominous sign for a Patriots team that forced a lot of yellow flags to hit the field in the preseason. But penalties were not a major factor on Sunday.

Outside of a Vederian Lowe false start, the offensive line had an otherwise clean game penalty-wise. Uche got a little too excited on one rush to Burrow and jumped early for an offsides, and corner Marco Wilson had the biggest offense with a pass interference that gave the Bengals 20 free yards on their lone touchdown drive.

New England's fifth and final penalty of the afternoon was by design, as they took a delay of game in the fourth quarter while trying to draw the Bengals offsides. There was no run of Illegal Formation infractions on the offensive line, which was a huge win for New England.

Kyle Dugger denies two touchdowns

When the Bengals were threatening to score in the second quarter, Kyle Dugger denied them. Twice.

The hard-hitting safety made back-to-back game-swinging plays as the Bengals were threatening to make it a 7-7 game. First, he knocked a potential touchdown out of the hands of old pal Mike Gesicki in the back corner of the end zone, which was initially ruled a touchdown but overturned after a review. Then on the next play, Dugger saw tight end Tanner Hudson carelessly holding the ball on his way to the end zone, and punched it out of his hands. Safety Marcus Jones recovered it for New England, and the Patriots turned what could have been seven points for the Bengals into a field goal.

Two huge plays for a guy who is one of the many leaders on the Patriots defense. 

Jonathan Jones made a big stick on fourth down

The Bengals went for it on a fourth-and-2 at the New England 36 midway through the third quarter. Burrow threw a short pass to  Andrei Iosivas in the flat, but he was furiously taken down by Jonathan Jones to force a turnover on downs.

It was one of the biggest tackles of the game for New England. 

Christian Gonzalez held his own against Ja'Marr Chase

Chase played despite his summer-long hold-in over a contract dispute, but you'd never know it. He was a non-factor with six catches for 62 yards. 

Christian Gonzalez had a big part in that in his first game back since tearing his labrum last October. He held Chase to just three receptions for 15 yards when he was on the Bengals' star receiver. 

Brissett is building something with his tight ends

Brissett was efficient with 121 yards off 15-for-24 passing. He spread the ball to seven different pass-catchers, and utilized his tight ends when the Patriots needed an important conversion.

Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper combined for just four catches for 49 yards, but they were all pretty important. Henry had a pair of nine-yard receptions, including one on a third-and-4 early in the fourth quarter. Both of Hooper's catches -- 16 yards and 15 yards -- moved the chains for New England.

The two were on the field together quite a bit, and helped establish that powerful New England run game. Henry also broke up what would have been an easy interception by the Bengals in the end zone in the first half, which likely would have changed the game in Cincinnati's favor. 

Seahawks up next in Patriots' home opener

The Patriots will now host the Seattle Seahawks in their home opener next Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Mayo will square off against another rookie head coach who notched his first career win on Sunday, with Seattle giving Mike Macdonald a 26-20 victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 1.

The Seattle defense was swarming rookie QB Bo Nix on Sunday, hitting him nine times while recording a pair of sacks. They also picked Nix off twice in the win.

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