Patriots @ Bengals: A Clash Of Old and New

One of the most dominate NFL teams over the last decade has been the New England Patriots. The Patriots, who have been lead by future Hall Of Famers, Tom Brady and Coach Bill Belichick have been to four Super Bowls since 2004, winning two. Since Brady’s arrival in Foxboro, the team has captured a total of four Lombardi trophies.

Those Patriots will arrive in the Queen City this weekend and will take on one of the top teams in the National Football League, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals may not have the same kind of history that the Pats do, they have never won a Super Bowl, and have not even won a playoff game since 1990. But the team has made it to the playoffs in three consecutive years, and this season, the expectations are much higher than they have ever been, perhaps in team history.

The Cincinnati Bengals are lead by fourth-year quarterback Andy Dalton and Head Coach Marvin Lewis, who is in his 11th year with the team. The Bengals perhaps have the best team they’ve ever had. Andy Dalton is continuing to mature and develop as an elite quarterback, AJ Green is arguably the best wide receiver in the league, the defense is phenomenal all-around, they are arguably the best all-around team in the National Football League.

Every year since about 2004, it’s easy to predict the New England Patriots as the eventual AFC Champions, just because of the outstanding track record they’ve had. But this year the team is incomplete. They are once again without guys like Green-Ellis, Aaron Hernandez, and Wes Welker, guys who made the team great. They still have some threats, but Tom Brady said the New England offense “isn’t the kind of offense that’s going to perform at a high level” after their embarrassing Monday Night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

This truly will be a clash of an old powerhouse and a new powerhouse. Watch out AFC, there is a new gang on the streets, and they wear Orange and Black.