Want to know how productive the Patriots' offense is each week? Look at the first-quarter run totals

Left tackle Trent Brown doesn’t talk much. So when he speaks, you know his words mean something.

A little earlier in the season, he said the Patriots’ offense was at its best when New England can get the run game going early. When the Patriots can pound the ball and dictate the tempo, that usually sets the tone for a productive afternoon for the offense. So we went back to take a look at the numbers to see if he was right.

Turns out, Brown is pretty much spot on. Of course, all stats have to be put in some sort of context — you’re not necessarily going to willingly run the ball a ton against a good run defense, for example, and production will vary from game-to-game because of personnel.

But to Brown’s point, a good way to gauge the success or failure of the New England offense on any given weekend is to see how the Patriots do when it comes to running the ball in the early stages of the game.