Live Coverage: Bill Belichick, Patriots host Joe Burrow, Bengals on Christmas Eve

The Patriots are coming off one of the most frustrating losses in franchise history as they host the Bengals on Saturday at Gillette Stadium at 1 p.m.New England, which lost a shocker in Las Vegas, 30-24, despite leading by seven with less than a minute remaining, is 7-7 and currently outside the AFC playoff picture as the No. 8 seed.The AFC defending champion Bengals, meanwhile, have been red hot with six straight wins and are closing in on an AFC North title at 10-4.MassLive will have full coverage all day Sunday from Foxborough (scroll down).From the Associated PressCINCINNATI (10-4) at NEW ENGLAND (7-7)Saturday, 1 p.m. EST, CBSFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Bengals by 3 1/2.AGAINST THE SPREAD: Bengals 11-3; Patriots 7-6-1.SERIES RECORD: Patriots lead 17-9LAST MEETING: Patriots beat Bengals 34-13 on Dec.

15, 2019, in CincinnatiLAST WEEK: Bengals beat Buccaneers 34-23; Patriots lost to Raiders 30-24.BENGALS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Joe Burrow. With Burrow under center the Bengals are 12-4 over their past 16 games on the road, including the playoffs. In those games, Burrow has passed for 4,069 yards and 35 touchdowns, compiling a 102.3 passer rating, including a 17-point comeback win last week at Tampa Bay.

His 31 passing TDs this season trail only Patrick Mahomes (35). Burrow ranks fourth in the NFL with 3,885 passing yards.PATRIOTS PLAYER TO WATCH: LB Josh Uche: He has a career-high 10 1/2 sacks this season, all in the past seven games. He leads the NFL in sacks since Week 8 with his 10 1/2.KEY MATCHUP: Burrow vs.

Patriots secondary. The Patriots best chance of slowing down the Bengals offense will be by limiting Burrow in the passing game. New England enters allowing opponents only 202 passing yards per game and already has three interception returns for touchdowns.KEY INJURIES: DE Trey Hendrickson (wrist) is expected to play.

DE Sam Hubbard left in the first half last week with a calf injury and was ruled out. He was seen after the Buccaneers game wearing a walking boot on his left ankle and may miss a couple of weeks. ...

Patriots WR DeVante Parker remained in the concussion protocol throughout the week and will miss his second straight game after sitting out last week against Las Vegas. CB Jalen Mills (groin) also was inactive last week and will sit again with a groin issue. P Jake Bailey, who has been on injured reserve since Nov.

19, returned to practice on Wednesday. But LS Joe Cardona will miss his first game in his eight-year career with an ankle injury.SERIES NOTES: The Patriots have won three straight meetings and eight of the past 10. ...

New England is 10-2 at home all time, including 4-0 at Gillette Stadium. Cincinnati is one of 11 teams the Patriots have a perfect home record against. ...

The Bengals' most recent win over New England was in 2013, a 13-6 victory in Cincinnati.