Green-Ellis, Woodhead form 1-2 punch
If it wasn’t inviting enough to face an Indianapolis run defense that ranked 29th in the NFL entering today’s game, the Colts were also short two starting linebackers, the dependable inside man Gary Brackett as well as Clint Session.
Further, the Patriots were coming off perhaps their most impressive performance on the ground this season, having gained 106 yards rushing — including 87 by the BenJarvus Green-Ellis — last week against a Pittsburgh defense that had been allowing a league-best 58 yards per game.
It seemed likely that they would build on that running-game momentum against the Colts, especially with the added benefit of controlling the clock and keeping the ball out of Peyton Manning’s right hand.
And while it didn’t quite work out that way, with the Patriots ultimately using a balanced attack and Manning piling up 396 yards passing, the backfield duo of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead did more than their share to contribute to the victory.
Green-Ellis ran for 96 yards on 21 carries and scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season with a 5-yard run at 3:34 of the second quarter to give the Patriots a 21-7 lead.
Woodhead, meanwhile, broke off the run of the day, an electrifying 36-yard scoring run in which he completely faked out Colts safety Aaron Francisco en route to the end zone. He finished with a career-high 69 yards on just seven carries, and his scoring run gave the Patriots a 28-14 lead late in the third quarter.
“He’s a good runner,” Bill Belichick said during his postgame press conference. “I thought Benny [Green-Ellis] ran hard. Woody [Danny Woodhead] ran hard. Those guys break a lot of tackles. They’re tough to bring down. Fortunately we had a couple good blocks there from [Deion] Branch and [Wes] Welker [on Woodhead’s run]. It was hard to see the whole play, but it looked like Branch came over and kind of helped spring him there. Wes was making a block in the end zone, so [it was] good running, good downfield blocking by the receivers. It was good team football.”
Woodhead, the diminutive Jets castoff, joked during the postgame that someone needs to provide him with a step stool the next time he has to come to the podium. But judging by the comments of his teammates, his stature in the locker room could not be much bigger.
“That kid is a great player,” said tight end Aaron Hernandez, who scored the Patriots’ first touchdown. “He’s amazing, and no one thinks a little kid like that is going to be able to get through the line and make people miss and break tackles. Woodhead can do it all, passing game, coming out of the backfield, running the ball. He does it all.”
Added Deion Branch: “I guess thanks to the Jets, they let him go that easy. He’s a great player, a great teammate to be around.”
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