Patriots’ offense still in a funk, but defense and special teams dominate horrible Bengals

Tom Brady, harassed by Geno Atkins, completed less than 56 percent of his passes for the fifth straight game.matthew j. lee/Globe Staff

CINCINNATI — Instant Analysis from the Patriots’ 34-13 win over the Bengals:

■  The Patriots came away with a nice win on the road, but all they proved on Sunday was that their defense and special teams are good enough to dominate terrible teams. The offense is still a disheveled mess.

This game was a reprise of the first eight games of the season — the Patriots’ defense taking advantage of terrible quarterback play, and Tom Brady and the offense just sputtering along, unable to sustain any momentum or make any big plays.

Of the Patriots’ 34 points, 7 were scored on a Stephon Gilmore pick-six, 7 came when another Gilmore interception gave them a short field, and 3 came when the Bengals muffed a punt near the end of the second quarter.

Otherwise, the Patriots gained more than 45 yards on a drive just once — the opening drive of the game, when they marched 75 yards for a TD. And they had exactly two receptions of 20-plus yards all game — screen passes to James White of 22 and 23 yards, both on the opening drive. Brady was still in the game late in the fourth quarter, and even threw a pass. This offense needs the reps.

The win improved the Patriots to 11-3, clinched a playoff spot and kept them in the driver’s seat for the No. 2 playoff seed. But, boy, is the offense still a mess.

■  Sunday was a statement game for Gilmore — the statement being he deserves to be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. His two interceptions give him six on the season, the most in the league (and he almost had another pick in the fourth quarter). And Gilmore’s pick-six was his second of the season, making him the first Patriot to have two in a season since Tedy Bruschi in 2003.

Gilmore has been a lock-down corner all season, and now has the stats to match. He deserves the hardware, too.

■  Brady didn’t throw with much touch and looked a bit erratic. Yes, Mohamed Sanu should catch any ball that hits him in the hands, but his drop on fourth-and-4 in the second quarter was a laser from Brady.

Overall, Brady was 15-for-29 passing for 128 yards and two touchdowns, marking the fifth straight game he has completed less than 56 percent of his passes.

■  That said, Brady hasn’t been getting any help, and that continued Sunday. His offensive line didn’t give him any time, and allowed two sacks on just four-man rushes. Marcus Cannon has struggled, and let Carlos Dunlap race right around him for a third-down sack in the second quarter. Sony Michel fumbled on third and inches, forcing the Patriots to punt, and Sanu got lucky that another fumble in the fourth quarter was negated because of three penalties by the Bengals. Julian Edelman and James White also had bad drops that killed early drives.

The Patriots are thin at receiver, the offensive line is struggling, and no one is making plays.

■  Also, Edelman (2 receptions, 9 yards) is really banged up. It was admirable he played through knee and shoulder injuries,but perhaps this could have been a game to give him some rest and let him heal a bit, because he’s clearly not himself. The Patriots limited his snaps and kept him out of a lot of first downs, as Edelman didn’t have the usual bounce in his step, and he short-armed a few passes. If Edelman doesn’t get healthy for the playoffs, Brady won’t have anyone he can trust.

A banged-up Julian Edelman played, but he only had two catches for 9 yards.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff/Globe Staff

■  The run game finally had a nice day, rushing for a season-high 177 yards on a 5.9-yard average (excluding Brady’s kneel-downs). Even when you take out Rex Burkhead’s 33-yard touchdown run in garbage time, the Patriots still rushed for 144 yards with a 4.97-yard average. Sony Michel had a nice game, rushing 19 times for 89 yards (4.7 average), and ran with some good toughness.

That said, the Bengals entered the game 32nd in run defense (157 yards per game), and 29th in yards per carry allowed (4.9). If the Patriots couldn’t run the ball on this team, they’d be in big trouble.

■  The Patriots’ screen game this season has been good-to-excellent, and the offensive line did a great job of getting out in front and paving the way Sunday. On White’s 23-yard touchdown scamper, Ted Karras, Joe Thuney and Shaq Mason all did a great job of getting downfield and eliminating Bengal defenders. White did the rest, shaking free of Geno Atkins.

■  It was good to see Josh McDaniels find ways to get rookie N’Keal Harry involved. Harry played the majority of the game, a week after playing just two snaps against the Chiefs. Harry only had two catches for 15 yards — though he did have a circus catch wiped out by a penalty — but he also rushed for 22 yards on two end-arounds. Harry may not know much of the playbook yet, but he’s still dynamic and powerful with the ball in his hands, and McDaniels did a good job of getting him in space.

■  The Patriots’ run defense got gashed early, allowing 96 yards on 7.4 yards per carry in the first quarter. But the Patriots added another defender to the line for the rest of the game, and overall the Bengals rushed for just 68 yards over the final three quarters (though the lopsided score may have played into it). But the Bengals still rushed for 164 yards on 5.1 yards per carry, and it doesn’t inspire confidence for if/when the Patriots have to play the Ravens again in the playoffs.