FOXBORO — It becomes a matter of circumstance.
The Patriots’ ground game has varied this season based on the situation, the score and the quarterback.
But with Tom Brady back in the fold after his four-game Deflategate suspension, the Pats don’t fancy themselves as a team that runs to set up the pass, but the other way around.
Still, if form holds, the team would nevertheless like to lean on running back LeGarrette Blount & Co. to close out an opponent when the Pats jump out to a lead and want to bleed the clock and apply the finishing blow.
In the loss to the Bills two weeks ago, the Pats trailed nearly the entire game. Then, in Sunday’s win over the Browns, not only did the Pats fail to gain traction on the ground, but turned the ball over on downs despite two cracks at the end zone from the Browns’ 1-yard line in the second quarter.
In those games, the Pats were held to under 100 yards rushing each time after putting up 106, 161 and 185 yards against the Cardinals, Dolphins and Texans, respectively. If the Pats do find themselves in position to put some distance between themselves and the Bengals Sunday, they’d like to find similar success.
“We always want to have a good running game going, start strong and finish strong, too,” rookie left guard Joe Thuney said. “I think every week it’s important to try and get the run game going. As an offensive line, we like to run the ball a lot, so it is important.”
Said center David Andrews: “We’re just trying to go out there and do the best we can and if things open up they do. That’s our job to go out there and execute our game plan and what’s called. Whatever gets thrown at us, we’re going to try and go out and do it to the best of our ability.”
The Bengals have had varying degrees of success against the run, but their opponents’ offensive philosophies have dictated that to an extent.
Last week, the Bengals faced the run-oriented Cowboys with rookie back Ezekiel Elliott, who gashed Cincinnati’s defense for 134 yards on 15 carries. Elliott now leads the league in rushing yards with 546.
But the Patriots bring a much different style to the table, so it’s incumbent to simply have success on the ground when called upon. The inability to score from the 1 against the Browns is a prime example, as Blount was stuffed twice for no gain.
The Pats want to put those shortcomings in the past.
“It depends on how the game’s going,” running back James White said. “The way (offensive coordinator) Josh (McDaniels) is going to call the plays, you never know. Cleveland did a pretty good job stopping the run against us. Sometimes it’s going to go like that but obviously we want to improve and have better performances on the ground.”
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