Patriots Paid the Price for Abandoning the Run

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With 8 minutes left in the second quarter yesterday, Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount had the ball ripped out of his hands by Carlos Dunlap. The Bengals Reggie Nelson recovered, setting Cincinnati up with field position that they would turn into a Mike Nugent field goal and a 3-0 lead.

At that point in the game, Blount had ran nine times for 42 yards, good for a healthy 4.6 yards per carry. Blount wound up seeing only eight snaps in the rest of the game. The Patriots ran only 6 times in the entire second half and only 18 runs in the game, despite gaining 82 yards on those 18 plays (also 4.6 yards per carry). For comparison's sake, the victorious Bengals ran 39 times for 162 yards (4.2 yards per carry).

Giving up on the run early exacerbated New England's problems in the passing game. The Patriots offensive line struggled to protect Brady throughout the game, leading to a visibly rattled Brady missing some passes (he also wasn't helped by six drops, which surprisingly didn't come from rookies). Abandoning the run put even more pressure on Brady to somehow make chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what, and the result was a disatrous six point showing from the offense.

It's an established fact by now that fumbling will earn you an immediate seat on the bench on this team, but it's worth second-guessing that decision yesterday considering the circumstances. With Stevan Ridley out, Leon Washington banged up and Shane Vereen on short-term IR, Blount and Brandon Bolden were the only available backs for the Patriots. Benching Blount left just Bolden, who is more of a passing down back (and who is battling through a knee injury right now).

This decision hurt the Patriots offense in multiple ways. Not only did it remove the Patriots most consistent source of yards (power rushing), but it also made the offense predictable. Bengals defenders were able to pin their ears back and rush Brady throughout the second half without fear of rushing attack to keep them honest. The result was even more hits on Brady as things continued to spiral out of control for the offense.

The Patriots in past years had a strong enough passing game to carry the team when the run isn't working. This year, at least with Gronk out, Vereen out and Amendola working his way back, that isn't the case. The Patriots are simply too reliant on play action in the passing game to abandon the run early in the second quarter, especially when the running game is getting consistent yardage.

When depth is tested to the extent that it has been this year on offense, sometimes you have no choice but to give the guy who goofed last time a chance to redeem himself. These games count and you have to play the guys who give you the best chance at winning. Yesterday, the best chance at winning was churning out tough yards up the middle with Blount and Bolden. The Patriots passed instead, and the result was their first loss of the season.