CINCINNATI -- If you have already jumped off the Cincinnati Bengals' once-growing bandwagon, two players have a message for you.

Stay off.

Safety George Iloka and veteran Pro Bowl offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth weren't very happy Monday afternoon when asked to discuss concerns related to fans who had already given up on the team after Sunday night's disappointing 43-17 loss at New England.

Comments on social media during yet another Bengals loss in a prime-time, nationally televised game had many of the team's most loyal supporters questioning their faith in this year's group, even after the promising 3-0 start that made Cincinnati one of two unbeatens left standing.

"Let them jump off," Iloka said. "I'm not worried about the people who jump off. We don't want them as fans anyway."

Sunday's loss made the Bengals 2-5 in prime-time games since 2011 and dropped their franchise record to 3-13 in Sunday night games. They still haven't won a Sunday night game since 2004.

Much like the Bengals, the Patriots had their own experience with a blowout loss just last week. In the days that immediately followed last Monday night's 41-14 loss at Kansas City, the Patriots heard from fans who were starting to give up on them and their future Hall of Fame quarterback who led them to three Super Bowl victories. A pall settled over New England, and many questioned if the Patriots could even show up against the Bengals.

Less than 15 minutes into Sunday's game, the Patriots made it clear that they not only would survive the Bengals, but that they would pummel them. The Patriots of old were back, and their fearless leader, Tom Brady, was in the good graces of his fan base once again. At times during his 292-yard, two-touchdown passing performance at Gillette Stadium, Brady's exploits caused fans to loudly chant his name. It was a completely different reaction from earlier in the week.

"We look to the Patriots, how they came out and lost on Monday night in prime time and saw all their fair-weather fans jump off the bandwagon," Iloka said. "They're probably back on after they beat us. So we look to them and see how they came out, and we hope to do the same things on Sunday and beat the Panthers."

Cincinnati hosts Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Initially, Whitworth didn't want to address a question about his response to Bengals fans abandoning the team.

"They didn't come to the games when we were 3-0, so I don't know what to say to them," he began, citing the Bengals' lack of home sellouts in Week 2 and 3.

"That stuff's just garbage," Whitworth continued. "I'm not worried about the fans or the media or any of that crap. We need to go play well and win. The same people thought Tom Brady should quit football and retire from the NFL a week ago, so I bet they don't think that now. There's a lot of people [who] are reaping what they sowed in their comments last week about the New England Patriots, and now the team that was what everyone considered the hottest team [the Bengals], they beat the snot out of. So what does everybody have to say now?

"That's football. Every week you have to show up and play your best, and if you don't, you're going to get beat. That's NFL football, and that's why even with the best team in the league and the worst team in the league, there's not much difference as people would like to think."

And there's nothing a win wouldn't solve for Whitworth, Iloka and all their fans, die-hard and fair-weather alike.