4 reasons why the Patriots' running game has yielded big gains down the stretch and into the postseason

FOXBOROUGH -- Why have Patriots been so successful running the ball as of late? Anyone who has watched the games can tell you Sony Michel, James White and Rex Burkhead have powered New England to the cusp of another Super Bowl title. But after rewatching every offensive snap this year, there are four things that jump out:

1. Simply put, the Patriots have done an excellent job taking what has been given to them from a personnel standpoint. The last four games, New England has done well when it comes to picking up yardage in the run game against lighter fronts. Whether it’s a scheme decision to put a priority on stopping the passing game, injury, or simple lack of execution, opposing coaches have run a lot of nickel and dime against the Patriots, and they’ve recognized and adjusted, and spent plenty of time punishing opposing defensive backs on the second and third level.

Overall, the last four games (the two playoff games and the final two regular season games of the year), the Patriots have run the ball a total of 77 times against defensive schemes with five, six or seven defensive backs, and they’ve averaged 5.7 yards per carry. That includes 4.82 yards per carry in those situations against the Chiefs and 5.56 yards against the Chargers.

Against "regular" defensive personnel (four defensive backs or less), the Patriots have rushed 92 times for 298 yards (3.24 average).

Overall, here's how it all breaks down:

48 carries for 176 yards vs. Chiefs
vs. 5/6 DBs - 17 carries, 82 yards - 4.82 yards per carry
vs. 4 DBs or less - 31 carries, 94 yards — 3.03 yards per carry

34 carries for 155 yards vs. Chargers
vs. 5/6/7 DBs - 25 carries, 139 yards - 5.56 yards
vs. 4 DBs or less - 9 carries, 16 yards - 1.78 yards

30 carries for 131 yards vs the Jets
vs. 5/6 DBs - 17 carries - 103 yards - 6.06 yards
vs. 4 DBs or less - 13 carries, 28 yards - 2.15 yards

47 carries for 273 yards vs the Bills
vs. 5/6 DBs - 18 carries, 113 yards - 6.27 yards
vs. 4 DBs or less - 29 carries, 160 yards - 5.51 yards

Obviously, the Patriots, who averaged 4.3 yards overall during the regular season, are punishing teams that go light against them. There are a million examples over the last four games, but a few stuck out to me as clean, well-blocked and well-executed plays by the Patriots' running game:

In the first one, Rob Gronkowski and Marcus Cannon combine to clear out Melvin Ingram, opening a path for Michel:



In this one, Joe Thuney gets to the second level and rides Avery Williamson right out of the play, giving Michel another big gain.



And here, Thuney and Trent Brown wipe the left side clean for Rex Burkhead:



2. The Patriots are taking fewer penalties, particularly along the offensive line. New England was in a flag-filled rut for a sizable portion of the season, a stretch where the Pats’ bottomed out with 14 penalties against the Steelers. That game included six penalties against the offensive line for 45 yards, all of which were either false starts or holds. Penalties on first and second down are table-setters for third-and-long, situations that are not conducive at all to an effective running game. But over the last four games, the running game has cut way back on the penalties — the group had a clean sheet against the Chiefs (no false starts, a remarkable feat considering Arrowhead Stadium is considered one of the loudest stadiums in the league), and took one penalty each in the other three games. As a whole, the group has become far more disciplined over the last four games.

“There’s always things we can work on,” said David Andrews. “But the last two weeks, we’ve been clicking well. I thought it was a big challenge (against Kansas City) – no penalties, we didn’t do anything to hurt ourselves on the road and that was going to be a huge challenge with the noise and just that team has a good defense. So it was a big challenge.

“There was a lot of hard work,” he added. “It was frustrating in practice at times with the music and all that stuff going on, but that was a realistic feel for what it was like. It was hard to communicate. Guys were locked in and disciplined.”