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With the amount of attention that’s been paid to New England’s quarterback situation, it’s easy forget the Patriots’ No. 1 running back also has yet to see the field this season.
They haven’t needed him so far.
With Dion Lewis sidelined until at least Week 7 after undergoing a second knee surgery, LeGarrette Blount has thrived as the Patriots’ feature back, leading all NFL rushers in rushing attempts, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns through three games.
Blount has been especially explosive following quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s shoulder injury, carrying the ball 43 times for 207 yards and three touchdowns since Garoppolo went down late in the second quarter of New England’s Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins.
“We really needed it in both games,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday in a conference call with reporters. “LeGarrette has a lot of skill, as we know. He’s a big back that has very good quickness and feet and balance and speed for that size. So, we just kind of always feel like if we can just get a hole, get him started, get him going that he has a lot of ability to make yards on his own if we can just get him going, get him downhill, and get him some space to run.”
Blount rushed for 123 yards against the Dolphins, then turned in a 24-carry, 105-yard performance just four days later in a blowout win over the Houston Texans on “Thursday Night Football.” He’s accounted for 298 of the Patriots’ 452 total rushing yards this season, 75 of their 108 carries and four of their five rushing touchdowns (quarterback Jacoby Brissett has the other).
“He’s had a number of games in his career here with us that he’s really done a nice job of carrying the ball a few times,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Monday. “To be able to do that four days apart, that’s always a tougher issue when you carry it a lot, and then come back and do it in the same week, four days apart, that’s not easy to do. He does a good job of taking care of his body and trying to get himself ready to go each week, learn the game plan and get ready to go when his number is called.
“He’s been in there a lot this year. He’s carried the ball, he’s pass protected, he’s been involved in the passing game a little bit, so he does a lot of different things. Some show up in the stat sheets, some don’t. But we’ve certainly counted on him a lot, and he came through for us again on Thursday night.”
The Patriots’ three other active running backs — James White, D.J. Foster and Brandon Bolden — have combined for just 41 rushing yards on 10 carries over the team’s first three games.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images