Geno Stone’s pick-6 and career-high 13 tackles not enough to lift Bengals over Patriots

CINCINNATI (AP) — Geno Stone, the veteran presence in the middle of the NFL’s worst passing defense this season, took a lot of satisfaction in his interception return for a touchdown Sunday.

The Bengals safety has struggled with tackling and coverage this season. But he played his best game in Cincinnati’s 26-20 loss to the New England Patriots.

“I felt like I needed it (given) the past few weeks I had,” Stone said. “I felt like I wasn’t playing up to what I should be playing at. And today, I feel I showed what I’m capable of, and who I really am.”

On his interception, Drake Maye tried taking a shot down the field on a trick play and overthrew Hunter Henry. Leading up to the game, Bengals coach Zac Taylor praised the way Maye has been protecting the ball this year. The second-year starter only had five picks in 11 games.

Stone was playing zone coverage deep down the field and anticipated where the ball was going.

“We were just in a man defense and just went ‘empty,’ and I was reading the quarterback, really,” Stone said. “I saw the free runner go over the top and he overthrew it, and I just took it from there.”

Stone’s pick was the first turnover by the Bengals’ defense since Week 7. Cincinnati had consistently poor performances since that game and defensive coordinator Al Golden and Taylor have emphasized that forcing more turnovers could get the unit back on track.

They also stressed the importance of the returns after turnovers. Stone was able to take his return to the end zone.

“I’m really excited to see that,” Taylor said. “Finishing (an interception) in the end zone is something we’ve been talking about like crazy. It’s going to come to us. Finish it in the end zone. We’ve got to finish through the back end line. All of the things we’ve been talking about, he did.

“He’s one of those guys who’s going to keep fighting for us.”

Stone’s big game was about more than the turnover — he also recorded a career-high 13 tackles. His biggest one came on a goal-line stand in the third quarter.

On that series, the Bengals’ defense faced nine goal-to-go plays and forced a turnover on downs at the 1-yard line.

“We’re showing what our real identity is,” Stone said. “It took a while — it took a lot — but we’re finding guys in the right spots, and we’re all just playing with heart right now. Guys are flying around, we’re owning up to all the mistakes we had early in the season and we’re all just playing together right now.”

The difference in the final score was a pick-6 thrown by the Bengals’ Joe Flacco. The defense was only responsible for allowing 19 points Sunday. The unit tackled better than it had previously, and there were more splash plays on the defensive line.

It also marked the first time since Week 1 that the Bengals had allowed fewer than 27 points.

Still, the Bengals were picked apart over the middle of the field. They also couldn’t force the Patriots to punt on their final drive in the fourth quarter, which ended up preventing the Bengals from being able to kick a tying field goal when Cincinnati got the ball back in the final few minutes.

The Bengals fell to 3-8 with the loss and now have a quick turnaround leading up to a road Thursday night game against a Baltimore Ravens team that’s tied for first place in the AFC North.

“I know I’m hurting a little bit, but you’ve just got to get your body ready,” Stone said. “You’ve got a short week, so I know the coaches are going to get a good game plan (ready) for us and get us ready for the Ravens. You know what type of team they are, and it’s the AFC North, so we’ve got to get ready for them.”

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