New England Patriots team grades vs Miami Dolphins Week 14

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. For the Patriots, that good thing was their running game, and it came to a halting end against the Dolphins.

In the first meeting, the Patriots ripped the Dolphins to shreds on the ground. Dion Lewis ran for 112 yards on 15 carries. The team gained 196 yards on 38 carries, equaling out to a strong 5.2 yards per carry. This time around, the Patriots barely gained 5.2 yards.

The Patriots running game was glaringly absent this time around. The Patriots ran the ball only 10 times in the game. Lewis and Rex Burkhead each received five carries and did very little with them.

Lewis gained only 17 yards on his five carries while Burkhead gained eight. 25 yards on 10 carries is abysmal. The production isn’t inspiring and the amount of carries is odd as well.

The Patriots didn’t try very hard to get the running game going. They abandoned it early on and never looked back. It made them easy to defend as the Dolphins defensive line pinned their ears back and rushed Brady relentlessly.

Rushing the ball only 10 times on 55 total plays is a recipe for disaster. The Patriots have to get closer to 50/50 to keep opposing defenses on their toes.