Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Brady’s first home game leads off the day
Bengals have never beaten Pats at Gillette
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — This summer during training camp, New England Patriots fans never missed an opportunity to let Tom Brady know they were thinking about him.
He was weeks away from the start of his four-game “Deflategate” suspension, and every time he stepped onto the field, he was showered with cheers and serenaded with “Brady! Brady! Brady!” chants.
After a successful regular-season debut at Cleveland last week, Sunday is Brady’s homecoming against the Cincinnati Bengals (10 a.m., KLAS-8).
“I think we’ll see how it plays out,” Brady said. “But, yeah, I know they’re expecting a good crowd. We’ll be fired up, too. I mean we’re playing a great team. We’re 4-1, it’s not great, but we’re in a decent position.”
It will also be the latest challenge for a Bengals team that has had limited success against Brady.
Cincinnati (2-3) is coming off a 28-14 loss at Dallas last week and is trying to avoid its first 2-4 start since 2010, when it finished 4-12 — its worst season under Marvin Lewis. The Bengals also would match their regular-season loss total from 2015, when they tied the club record with a 12-4 mark.
Brady enters Sunday 5-1 overall and 3-0 at home against Cincinnati, which never has beaten the Patriots since they moved into Gillette Stadium in 2002. The Bengals haven’t won at New England at all since 1986, dropping their past six, including 4317 loss in 2014.
LOS ANGELES (3-2) AT DETROIT (2-3) 10 A.M. (KVVU-5)
The Lions might have benefited from a missed call by officials in their comeback win against the Eagles. They expect DE Ezekiel Ansah (ankle) back after missing three-plus games, and cornerback Darius Slay comes off a strong performance in which he had a clinching interception.
To get to .500, Detroit will need to figure out Todd Gurley. The 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year went for 140 yards on 16 carries and had two TDs in last year’s win over the Lions in St. Louis. Gurley has yet to break out this season, though, with only a 2.7-yard average. But he has rushed for three scores.
DALLAS (4-1) AT GREEN BAY (3-2) 1 P.M. (KVVU-5)
There remain enough doubters about the Cowboys that this is another prove-it game. The way Dak Prescott is throwing it (155 passes without a pick) and Ezekiel Elliott is running it (league-high 546 yards), Dallas is proving you can win behind rookies.
“There are certainly a lot of areas where we have to get better,” coach Jason Garrett says, “but we’re doing a good job coming off the ball, getting into blocks and finding places for runners to run. The runners are running well.”
Still, the Packers hold opponents to 42.8 yards rushing per game. If the Cowboys, 4-11 at the Packers, come close to their 155.2 yards per game on the ground, it will be impressive. And possibly decisive.
INDIANAPOLIS (2-3) AT HOUSTON (3-2) 5:20 P.M. (KSNV-3)
Given the other matchups Sunday, it’s a shame the flex schedule hasn’t begun yet.
Still, this is for first place in a division, albeit the mediocre AFC South.
The Colts are 23-5 against Houston, and Andrew Luck has won 14 of his past 15 starts within the division. He might need a big game because Indy is not likely to shut down receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Jaelen Strong and rookie Will Fuller.