What to watch for: How will Patriots respond against Bengals after last week's disaster?

FOXBORO --  Don't talk about last week. Don't talk about last week. Don't talk about last week.

Darn it; we have to talk about last week. It's impossible not to with the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick and everyone else can have fun bringing back "On To Cincinnati" as much as they want, but we're still thinking about Vegas.

That loss left a real lump of coal in everyone's proverbial stocking. It was bad. It was embarrassing. It was disheartening. It was an unmitigated disaster for the Patriots. And now they are sitting outside of the playoff picture with three weeks to play.

The Patriots don't have any wiggle room the rest of the way. They have to win out and hope for some help if they want to make the playoffs. They could maybe afford to go 2-1, but that's playing with some serious fire.

And the schedule doesn't help their cause, either. All three of New England's upcoming opponents are currently playoff teams, starting Saturday afternoon with the Cincinnati Bengals, who have won six straight and eight of their last nine. After that, it's another home game against the 8-6 Miami Dolphins before a season-ending visit to Buffalo. The Bills may still be looking to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC that weekend, so even that won't be a walk in the (Orchard) park.

"It's the season," captain Devin McCourty said of this final stretch. "If you want to make the playoffs, you've got to beat three playoff teams."   

But the ghosts of Christmas future don't matter right now. All that matters for the Patriots is the present, and that happens to be a matchup with the Bengals. But even when that game kicks off, visions of last week's debacle against the Raiders will still be dancing in our heads. 

Here's what we'll be watching for when the Pats welcome the Bengals to Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

How do they respond?

The sting of last week's embarrassing loss has to linger, no matter how much the players have said they've moved on. So how will everyone bounce back from such a demoralizing defeat?

Mac Jones is probably determined to get the final image of Sunday night -- when Chandler Jones sent the quarterback into the earth's crust with a ferocious truck move on his way to the end zone -- out of everyone's minds. Another multi-touchdown game (which would be just his second on the season) would help. Heck, any touchdown throws would help, since Jones has gone 11 quarters without throwing one.

How will Rhamondre Stevenson and Jakobi Meyers come out on Saturday after causing the lateral malfunction last week? Stevenson already makes it happen on the field, but imagine that guy running through would-be tacklers (in the cold) with a little extra juice. And Meyers is as competitive as they get; he's going to do everything he can to get that play out of everyone's memory. 

Wouldn't it be something if within the first few offensive plays, Bill Belichick calls for a Meyers pass downfield? That would be a nice wrinkle to an offense that has been about as exciting as your aunt Clara's fruitcake this season.

But bouncing back goes well beyond those three players. The Patriots are the laughingstock of the NFL right now, and last weekend just about squashed their postseason hopes. Will they come out with a fire in their eyes, determined to right the wrongs of a week ago and beat a quality opponent? Or will they come out like a team ready to roll over on the season?

Unfortunately with this group, we just don't know which team we're going to see. It'd be in New England's best interest to get off to a fast and hot start. Otherwise, it could go south real quick.

Mac's Antics

We'll obviously be watching to see if Mac Jones throws another nutty on the sideline or flips out on his coaches. That has become part of everyone's in-game homework over the last month.

Since the game is on Christmas Eve, you'd think he would do everything in his power to keep his emotions in check and try to stay on the nice list. But Mac hasn't been afraid to go into Grinch mode, so we'll see if he has a Clark Griswold-like meltdown if things go sideways for the Patriots offense again. 

Burying Burrow

Joe Burrow has been sacked at least once in every game this season. He's been sacked at least once in all but two of the 40 games that he's played in during his career. He gets sacked a lot.

Cincinnati's protection has been much better over the last month. Burrow has only been sacked five times over the last four games. He's only been sacked eight times over the Bengals' six-game winning streak.

It should be no surprise that when the Cincinnati offensive line -- led by old friend Ted Karras at center -- protects Burrow, they win games. When they don't, it gets a little dicey. Burrow was sacked 13 times over the first two weeks of the year (seven by the Steelers and six by the Cowboys), and the Bengals lost both games. He was sacked five times by the Browns on Halloween, and the Bengals lost.

So it will be important for Matthew Judon and Josh Uche to get after Burrow this weekend. It's the only shot the Patriots have at keeping him from shredding the rest of the defense.

Rookies Chasing Chase

Rookie cornerbacks Marcus Jones and Jack Jones have been great, two of the very few bright spots on the roster. It's very likely that one of the Jones boys will have to cover Ja'Marr Chase, which is not going to lead to a very merry or bright Saturday for either of them.

(Mix in Jonathan Jones, and we'll be seeing someone with Jones on the back of their jersey trying to keep Chase in check.)

Jack Jones, at 5-foot-11, wouldn't be terribly overmatched by the 6-foot-1 Chase, but he missed last week with a knee injury and may not be back at full speed. Marcus Jones may get the duties, but he would be a bit overmatched at just 5-foot-8. (Then again, from everything we've seen from the rookie, we're left wondering what can't Marcus Jones do?)

The Patriots have been a mixed bag against No. 1, all-world receivers this season, but have been on a roll as of late. Marcus Jones made Davante Adams a non-factor last week with just four catches for 28 yards. DeAndre Hopkins had seven receptions for just 79 yards -- and a super costly fumble -- for the Cardinals two weeks prior.

But Stefon Diggs had a field day three weeks ago without really trying, and Justin Jefferson torched the New England secondary on Thanksgiving night. It's been boom or bust in these matchups.

The Bengals have a really good quarterback who has a really good No. 1 receiver, and a great cast around them. (Tyler Higgins is Cincinnati's No. 3 receiver and his 690 receiving yards would lead the Patriots.) The defense is going to have its hands full with any of its matchups, but keeping Chase from going wild will be a big part of stealing a win.

Tune in to Patriots-Bengals on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots. Coverage continues Friday night on WBZ-TV at 7 p.m. with Patriots All Access. Coverage kicks off Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, the Pats host the Bengals at 1 p.m., and after the game stay tuned for Patriots 5th Quarter -- all on WBZ-TV!