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The New England Patriots will open the season this Sunday when they travel to play the Cincinnati Bengals. It will mark the fourth time in team history that the Patriots will open the season against Cincinnati (1972, 2001 and 2010) and the first time since a 38-24 Patriots victory on Sept. 12, 2010 at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots last opened at Cincinnati in 1972, a 31-7 Bengals win. Robert Kraft's first regular season victory as Patriots owner came at Cincinnati on Sept. 18, 1994, when the Patriots defeated the Bengals, 31-28, at Riverfront Stadium.
The New England Patriots will open the season against the Cincinnati Bengals for the fourth time in team history (1972, 2001 and 2010) and for the first time since a 38-24 Patriots victory on Sept. 12, 2010. The Patriots last opened the season at Cincinnati in 1972, a 31-7 Bengals win.
The two teams last met on Dec. 24, 2022, when the Bengals pulled out a narrow 22-18 victory at Gillette Stadium. It was their first win at Gillette Stadium in five contests. The last time the Patriots played at Cincinnati was on Dec. 15, 2019, a 34-13 New England victory.
This week's game will be the 28th meeting between the two teams. New England leads the all-time series by a 17-10 margin in a series that dates back to 1968. The Patriots have emerged victorious in seven of the last 10 meetings.
While New England is 10-3 all-time at home against Cincinnati, including 4-1 at Gillette Stadium, the series is tied at 7-7 in games played at Cincinnati. However, the Patriots are in front, 3-2, at Paul Brown Stadium/Paycor Stadium.
- The Patriots are 35-29 on opening day and will be looking for their first opening day win since 2020 when they opened the year with a 21-11 win vs. Miami on Sept. 13.
- The Patriots are 12-14 on opening day on the road.
- The Patriots have 28 players on the 53-man roster that were not on the 53-man roster on opening day of the 2023 season. Of that group, LB Raekwon McMillan was with the team, but on injured reserve, and DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr. was on the practice squad.
- Since 2000, the Patriots have had three punt or kick returns for touchdowns on opening day. The last came in 2010 when Brandon Tate returned a kickoff for 97 yards vs. Cincinnati on Sept. 12, 2010 in a 38-24 Patriots win.
NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience by Sports USA. John Ahlers will call the game with James White providing analysis.
LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 33 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. The games are produced by Marc Cappello.
