Tre'Davious White is back to full-time status after playing sparingly in the first meeting while coming back from a torn ACL suffered last season. Opponents average 213.3 yards per game through the air (14th in the league) and just 6 yards per pass (sixth) against a Bills secondary that has gotten healthier as of late. The Bills defense has been pretty stout against the pass as well. It's hard to imagine the Patriots getting untracked on the ground in this one.
The Patriots managed only 60 yards on the ground in the first meeting, again including a 16-yard draw by Stevenson in an obvious passing situation. The Bills rotate plenty of bodies up front and Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips, Daquan Jones and Tim Settle have been stout in front of linebackers Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmonds.
Buffalo has been strong against the run most of the season, allowing just 104.4 yards per game (fourth in the league) and 4.3 yards per carry (13th). The 3.7-yards-per-carry average for the team is in line with the recent production despite the fact that the offensive line has been set with the same five starters for the past month. New England managed just 77 yards on 21 carries against the Dolphins, and that included an 18-yard draw by Stevenson in a long-yardage situation. His return did little to reverse the trend that has developed over the last two months as the Patriots continue to struggle running the ball. Damien Harris, his running mate for most of the first half of the year, finally made it back in the lineup against Miami on New Year's Day after missing four games with a thigh injury. Rhamondre Stevenson seemed destined to top the 1,000-yard plateau weeks ago but enters the finale still in need of 14 yards to get there.
Pardon the pun, but the Patriots running game has quite frankly run out of steam.
0 kommentar(er)
