The Patriots shut up a sea of orange, and an endless list of pundits predicting them for a league-worst finish, in Jerod Mayo’s first career win as head coach.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s unit proved the old adage that you have to learn to walk before you can run in the Patriots’ 16-10 win over the Bengals. The Patriots’ offense didn’t do anything fancy and didn’t even produce a play over 20 yards, but they did walk all over the Bengals, donned in all orange just like the home field Paycor Stadium crowd, in four scoring drives.

And the Patriots’ defense proved they can still be a top unit even without Matthew Judon, who was traded away, and Christian Barmore, who’s out after being diagnosed with blood clots.

The Patriots came out of the gate looking like the much better football team against the Bengals.

After stalling on a five-play, 25-yard opening drive, the Patriots put together a marathon 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with an easy 3-yard touchdown run from Rhamondre Stevenson and took 7:20 off the clock.

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Jacoby Brissett was as dangerous with his legs, picking up 22 yards on two carries scrambling, as he was with his arm, completing a key 9-yard pass to wide receiver DeMario Douglas on third down.

Alex Van Pelt’s offense went three-and-out on the Patriots’ third drive.

The Patriots’ defense began the game dominating quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense, forcing three straight three-and-outs as Keion White picked up 1.5 sacks through the first 17 minutes of the game.

DeMarcus Covington’s unit bent but did not break on the Bengals’ fourth series, a drive that was capped by an incredible play by safety Kyle Dugger to prevent a touchdown.

Burrow a completed a short pass to tight end Tanner Hudson, who was scampering into the end zone before Dugger punched out the ball at the 2-yard line. Cornerback Marcus Jones picked up the ball on a bounce and returned it 17 yards to the Patriots’ 18-yard line. The Bengals’ 13-play, 63-yard drive was all for naught.

The Patriots got the ball back with 5:09 left in the first half and drained it down to zero with a 12-play, 63-yard drive, culminating with a 32-yard field goal by kicker Joey Slye. Stevenson was a star on the drive, picking up 39 yards on his first three carries of the series. Brissett got lucky on an under thrown ball off his back foot to tight end Hunter Henry into the end zone. The ball should have been intercepted but Henry pulled the ball away from Bengals safety Geno Stone for an incompletion.

The Patriots went three-and-out to begin the second half but got the ball back while punting it away from the Bengals. Returner Charlie Jones went 10 yards before Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona got his helmet on the ball to force a fumble that was recovered by Jaylinn Hawkins to get the ball back.

The offense only went 7 yards, but it was good enough to set Slye up for a 35-yard field goal to go up 13-0.

The Bengals got the ball back at the Patriots’ 30-yard line after a kickoff and dinked and dunked 35 yards on nine plays. They went for it on fourth-and-2, but Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones stopped Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas short of the sticks with a hard hit after a 1-yard completion.

The Patriots again went three-and-out after two running plays and an incompletion from Brissett when he took a hard hit from free-rushing Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson.

The upward trend continued for the Bengals on their second offensive series of the second half, scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run from running back Zack Moss after a nine-play, 90-yard drive. They were aided by a 20-yard defensive pass interference penalty from Patriots cornerback Marco Wilson on a downfield attempt from Burrow to Iosivas.

Suddenly facing a one-score game, the Patriots needed to score on their next drive. Taking the ball over at their own 30-yard line, Brissett picked up key first-down conversions on third down with a 6-yard scramble and 9-yard completion to tight end Austin Hooper before kicker Joey Slye finished the series with a 37-yard field goal to increase the lead to 16-7.

The Bengals trimmed the Patriots’ lead to 16-10 with a 51-yard field goal from Evan McPherson. A third-down sack from White on third-and-5 ended the Bengals’ hopes of scoring a touchdown.

Stevenson picked up a first down on the first play of the Patriots’ next drive, but that’s all the offense could manage on the four-play, 15-yard series before punting.

A stellar tackle from Brenden Schooler on the punt pinned the Bengals at their own 10-yard line. After a 5-play three-and-out, the Bengals had to punt back to the Patriots, who go the ball back and drained the clock with two first-down runs from Stevenson.

UP

RB Rhamondre Stevenson: The starting running back got the scoring started with a 3-yard plunge into the end zone. He averaged a solid 4.5 yards per carry with 111 yards on 24 attempts.

DE Keion White: White, a primary replacement for traded outside linebacker Matthew Judon, continued a stellar summer with 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

S Kyle Dugger: The star safety prevented a touchdown from tight end Mike Gesicki by jarring the ball loose as the former Patriots pass catcher came down. He forced a key fumble on the next play to prevent Hudson from getting into the end zone.

CB Christian Gonzalez: The Patriots’ top defender mostly shadowed Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The Patriots limited him to six catches for 62 yards, but his biggest play, a 28-yarder, was not on Gonzalez.

DOWN

LT Chukwuma Okorafor: Okorafor started at left tackle but was quickly replaced by Vederian Lowe after allowing pressure from Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Lowe was flagged for a false start but overall provided a more steady presence.

CB Marco Wilson: The backup cornerback was flagged for a 20-yard defensive pass interference penalty with a little over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Wilson was subbing in for Jonathan Jones.