At the snap...

7:11 remaining the the 3rd quarter, and the Bengals are leading 14-10. After the Patriots punted, there was a rush for no gain, then a hold, leading to 2nd and 18, from the 8. Cincinnati is in a 3 wide shotgun with Hill (#32) in the backfield and tight end Tyler Kroft (#81) in line next to the left tackle. The Patriots counter with only 2 down linemen, 2 outside linebackers on the line of scrimmage, and Hightower and Roberts (#52) up the middle. It's some hybrid 2-4/3-3/4-2. Branch and Brown are the 2 down linemen. Ninkovich (off screen right) and Flowers (#98) are the 2 outside linebackers, both standing. I don't think I've seen this particular alignment before, and with Roberts pressing the line, it makes it very difficult to differentiate who the rushers will be.

Dalton receives the snap...

As Dalton takes the snap, Roberts is showing blitz as both Brown and Branch start their rush. Flowers looks ready to cover the TE Kroft, and Hightower is just taking a step in, presumably to cover the RB/rush the passer.

Dalton drops back...

As Dalton starts to drop back, something has already gone wrong with his blocking. As Brown (#90) starts his rush, the guard immediately engages him, even though nobody is rushing wide, and left tackle Whitworth (#77) has nobody to block. To further aggravate the problem, Hill appears to be looking to block Hightower, but makes a bad decision of going between the tackle and guard, rather than stepping up in to the middle and letting the tackle handle the outside. As the blocking is going wrong, Hightower has made the quick decision to take his shot up the middle. Dalton and Flowers appear to be looking fo r a "hot route", but the tight end isn't looking.

Hightower shoots through the middle...

Branck does a great job engaging 2 blockers, and luck would seal off a third for him. It is pretty clear Hightower has a free shot. The guard won't be able to shift in time. Dalton is looking for a quick pass, but it won't be there as Flowers did a good job reading his eyes and floating towards the middle.

Too late...

The guard finally adjusted, but it was too late. Hightower is already past him. Whitworth never had anything to do on this play. Somewhere, the communication went wrong both between he and the guard, and between Hill and the whatever the reason was he decided to go through the wrong hole.

Game Over.

This was a great read (I think) by Hightower. The slight hesitation leads me to believe this was a play where he makes a decision between covering the back, or blitzing. Hill certainly made the decision easier, but still a nice job taking the opportunity that presented itself. When Dalton didn't go to his first read, Hightower got there. As soon as Hightower got a hand on Dalton, that was it. He spun him a little and brought him down in the endzone. This safety made it 14-12, Bengals still in the lead, but would prove to be THE turning point for the Patriots on their way to a 35-17 victory that saw New England end the game with 4 scores (3 touchdowns and 1 FG) on their 4 possessions following this play.