Patriots already embrace ‘On To Cincinnati’ battle cry following their loss against the Chiefs

The offense failed to get into a rhythm for much of the day, the defense was unable to make enough stops early on, and in the end the New England Patriots suffered a loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs — all while facing a quick turnaround before going up against the Cincinnati Bengals. Sounds familiar? This exact scenario took place in 2014, and what happened turned into a battle cry that was carried all the way to a Super Bowl victory.

On to Cincinnati.

Circumstances are of course different coming off Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs and heading into the Patriots’ meeting with Cincinnati, but it sure sounds as if the organization is already embracing the popular mantra that was established by head coach Bill Belichick five years ago: the players are in the process of turning the page on their 23-16 defeat with a chance to build some momentum heading into the final weeks of the regular season on the horizon.

“I just look at what we got to do and how we have to go out there and try to get back to work this week and fight a way to go to Cincinnati and win,” quarterback Tom Brady said on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show on Monday. “We have to keep fighting. It hasn’t been an easy season, that’s fine, that’s like every year. Every season has its own unique challenges. We’ve faced them and we’ve learned from them and now it’s time to rally together.”

Brady also shared that message through his social media channels:

The statements made by the veteran quarterback are in their essence what his teammates already told reporters right after New England’s loss against Kansas City, with running back James White stressing the team’s need for quick turnaround into Week 15: “We can’t dwell on losses — we need to move forward. We have another opportunity next week against Cincinnati, and we need to come out ready to go and be prepared.”

“The ball didn’t bounce our way, but we’re going to regroup. We’re still in a good position. We got to continue to fight. We got to continue to grind out these next three games because they are very important to our season,” said defensive back Duron Harmon after the Patriots’ third loss of the season. “We’ll move on and get ready for the Bengals. Get ready for the best ball we’ve played all year, and continue to just keep moving forward.”

“We just have to keep playing, we have Cincinnati this week,” added cornerback Stephon Gilmore, one of the members of the team who were not around for the 2014 version of On to Cincinnati. “We’ve just got to learn from it and try to get better. That’s the only thing we can do: learn from the film, see what they did well against us, and take our anger out on Cincinnati.”