CINCINNATI, OHIO - NOVEMBER 23: Marcus Jones #25 of the New England Patriots celebrates during the fourth quarter of the NFL 2025 game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images) Getty Images
Hunter Henry and Marcus Jones have seen some stuff.
The 30-year-old tight end and the 27-year-old defensive back have been good players on bad teams as the Patriots slogged their way from elite to largely irrelevant over the past few seasons.
They’ve played games in late November that didn’t really impact anything but their draft pick.
Many of the players who have helped turn the Patriots around this year never dealt with just how bad things got.
But Jones was drafted into a team coming off a playoff berth that still had cachet in the NFL. Henry signed with New England as a free agent, expecting to flourish for a franchise that had prominently featured its tight ends.
Both thought they’d be playing in big games with postseason implications in November and December. Instead, they watched things come apart.
They’ve seen coaches get fired, teammates get traded and their own fans boo at home. They know how bad it can get.
When he was hired in January, Mike Vrabel purged a lot of players still dripping with the stench of back-to-back 4-13 seasons, opting to start fresh as he rebuilt the franchise’s culture.
But among the experienced players he kept as part of his foundation were Henry and Jones. They were veterans he trusted, so much so that he made them captains. All season, they’ve proven worthy of that trust. Never more so than in Sunday’s 26-20 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati.
The Patriots were lousy on Sunday. Cincinnati came in with one of the worst defenses in the NFL: Worst in points allowed, yards allowed and rushing yards allowed and second worst in passing yards allowed. Still, New England struggled to find any rhythm against it.
Drake Maye was less accurate and less dynamic than he’s been and his wide receivers couldn’t get anything going. But Henry came to the rescue with seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Those totals nearly matched the eight catches for 120 and no TDs that the five receivers combined for.
“I take a lot of pride in what I do. I work extremely hard at my craft, and for this game, I put a lot of hours into this, and a lot of hours with Drake too. It’s cool to go out there and make some plays,” Henry said. “We need to be a lot better in a lot of areas, but it was cool to be able to get things going a little bit.”
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New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)AP
Jones’ ability to flip momentum has been his biggest strength throughout his career. He’s scored on defense, as a returner and even as a receiver when Bill Belichick experimented with him on offense.
He did that again on Sunday. In the second quarter, Jones perfectly read Joe Flacco’s eyes and stepped in front of the graybeard quarterback’s pass intended for Taj Brooks and raced in for a touchdown that put the Patriots ahead 14-10 just before halftime.
Watch Jones’ Pick-6 here
Bad teams with a lead have hope. Bad teams who blow a lead often feel resigned to here-we-go-again. Jones flipped that switch on the Bengals Sunday.
With 18 seconds left in the fourth, Jones came through again. With the Bengals driving for a potential winning touchdown, Jones jumped in front of Mike Gesicki on fourth down and batted the ball away to clinch the victory.
“There’s going to be some dirty games. We have to come together a little bit tighter and fix problems,” Mike Vrabel told his team after the game.
The win was both costly and messy for the Patriots. In addition to making mistakes that have become uncharacteristic, they lost three key players — offensive linemen Jared Wilson and Will Campbell and special teams ace Brendan Schooler — to injuries.
“It was a 60-minute battle, and it took everybody,” Henry said. “Obviously, a lot of guys went down today, unfortunately. And a lot of guys had to step up, and they did, and found a way. That’s really what it’s about.”
But despite the mistakes and injuries, it was still a win, thanks in a large part to Jones and Henry, who helped fix those problems.
“It’s the National Football League. Any given Sunday. You have to make sure you are consistent when it comes down to it,” Jones said. “We have a lot of things to correct, and we came out with the win.”
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