5 questions with Cincy Jungle: What to expect from Ja’Marr Chase against the Patriots?

The New England Patriots will start their 2024 regular season off on the road, going up against the Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals .

While neither team qualified for the playoffs last year, they are clearly in different states in their development: the Patriots are in full-on rebuild mode, while the Bengals finished 9-8 even with Burrow missing half the year on injured reserve.

To get a better understanding of what Cincinnati brings to the Week 1 matchup, we exchanged questions with Anthony Cosenza of Pats Pulpits sister site Cincy Jungle the SB Nation community for all things Bengals.

Here is what he told us about the upcoming game.

1.

What will the Bengals starting receiver lineup look like on Sunday? Do you expect JaMarr Chase to play most snaps? Yes, even though he didnt get a lot of summer work, Chase appears to be in peak physical condition.

He and Joe Burrow are intimately familiar with each other and this system, so I dont expect much of a beat being missed.

Theres always that game shape argument with holdouts/hold-ins, but with the team looking to move Chase around, inside and on the boundary, I still expect him to get his.

Tee Higgins appeared on the injury report with a hamstring, but he says he feels amazing, so I dont expect much of an issue there hes on a mission on the franchise tag and in a contract year.

(Note: Higgins has since been listed on the injury report as doubtful to play on Sunday) It will also be interesting to see what the Bengals new approach is in the post-Tyler Boyd era, but they definitely have a lot of quality options.

Second-year man Andrei Iosivas has been extremely impressive this offseason and will see the field often, as will veteran slot weapon, Trenton Irwin.

Third-round rookie Jermaine Burton was one of the best players throughout the league this preseason, but there are reported issues with his approach, so it remains to be seen what his immediate role will be.

Patriots fans are familiar with Mike Gesicki, whom the Bengals signed this offseason and will use as both a tight end and a big slot option.

2.

The Patriots have few advantages in this matchup, but their run offense and defense seem to have an edge.

Would you agree? I wouldnt argue a ton there.

On defense, Cincinnati lost its best run-stopper in D.J.

Reader, who they felt was getting up there in age and coming back from an injury with which they werent comfortable.

They have kind of opted for a by committee approach on the interior of the defensive line, bringing in guys with various skill sets.

They seem to be currently lacking a true, effective nose at the moment, which presents a potential liability.

For New Englands defense, it will be interesting to see what they do with Matthew Judon gone and their abilities against a Bengals running back group that has similarly undergone a by committee approach.

The masses feel that the Bengals have taken a step back in the group because of Joe Mixons statistical departure, but the team seems to really like the Zach Moss/Chase Brown duo.

They werent seen in much game action this summer, so were all curious about the effectiveness of the group.

3.) How has the Bengals offense changed under former quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher? In a lot of ways, not much, but in a few others, theyre hoping to elevate things.

When it comes to the latter, if effective Bengals assistant coaches get promotions elsewhere and that side of the ball is effective, the Bengals almost-always prefer to hire from within.

They want to keep the continuity, phrasing and concepts the same, particularly if were talking about a young core in place.

Pitchers ascension to offensive coordinator provides an easy transition for the talented offense.

I think the hope is that Pitcher can build further upon some of the productive complexities we saw in the middle weeks from the Bengals offense sandwiched between Burrows calf recovery and his season-ending wrist injury.

They were taking it to the Cardinals , Niners and Bills before Burrow landed on IR, so Pitcher is looking to expand upon that and use his receiving weapons in a number of ways.

4.) Trey Hendrickson headlines this Bengals front, but what other players should Patriots fans be wary of? Sam Hubbard is a savvy veteran opposite Hendrickson off of the other edge, but keep an eye on two interior linemen B.J.

Hill and Sheldon Rankins.

The latter finally came to the Bengals in free agency this spring, after they coveted him in the draft and showed subsequent free agent interest in both 2021 and 2023.

He absolutely destroyed the Bengals last year in their head-to-head clash with the Texans , so he knows how to get to the passer.

Hill isnt as well-known as Rankins, who has a former first-round pick, but he has a knack for big plays.

This knack becomes more frequent with able help around him, which Cincinnati hopes theyve supplied this spring.

5.) Is there a weak link in this Bengals secondary? Cincinnati has spent a lot of capital the past couple of offseasons, and this one in particular, to bolster the back end of the defense.

They brought back Vonn Bell at safety and added Geno Stone from the Ravens in free agency and they are excited about rookie Josh Newton.

Third-year man, Dax Hill, is transitioning back to corner after playing safety last year (to mixed results) and wowed in the preseason, He won the No.

2 corner job, but second-year corner and former second-round pick, D.J.

Tuner has a ton of speed and skills, too.

While Cincinnati has revamped this area of the team this offseason, I will say that Week 1 is an opportune time for the Patriots to square-off against this group as they feel each other out..

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