Patriots Player Power Rankings: Bill Belichick keeps injuries from hurting Patriots’ offense
COMMENTARY
Credit the New England Patriots’ head coach for Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Washington Redskins. The game wasn’t a full display of the potential of the 2015 Patriots, but it was an exhibition of Bill Belichick’s coaching acumen.
New England lost running back Dion Lewis and left tackle Sebastian Vollmer to injuries, but hardly missed a beat. By the time those players went down, the Patriots had a comfortable lead. From there, they rode LeGarrette Blount the rest of the way to a victory.
With Blount running for more than 100 yards and Washington not sacking Brady a single time, it was almost as if the Patriots’ makeshift offensive line hadn’t lost three left tackles to injury over the course of the year.
It wasn’t a beautiful win, but it was a win nonetheless.
1. Bill Belichick: His decision to go for an onside kick after scoring a touchdown on the Patriots’ opening drive was bold. His puzzle-piece approach to the ailing offensive line was even more impressive.
2. LeGarrette Blount: The running back said he welcomed a heavy workload after the game. After this performance, his teammates should welcome it next week. The 250-pounder had 29 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown.
3. Tom Brady: Brady made a rare mistake, blindly throwing an interception in the direction of Julian Edelman. Immediately afterward, he made up for it by flinging and flopping his way into a touchdown-saving tackle.
4a. Pat Chung: It’s a three-way tie for fourth place, as the defensive backfield combined to limit the Washington’s passing offense. Despite getting targeted six times in coverage according to NESN.com, Chung held tight end Jordan Reed to two receptions. Reed later caught a garbage-time touchdown with rookie Jordan Richards in coverage.
4b. Malcolm Butler: The cornerback held DeSean Jackson to three catches for 15 yards. He was smiling ear to ear in the locker room after the game. It was a job well done.
4c. Logan Ryan: He had a shaky day defending Pierre Garcon, who seemed like the only competent opposing receiver. But his interception on Kirk Cousins’s first pass led to a 14-0 lead before the Patriots’ injury began piling up.
7. Bryan Stork: Left tackle? Check. Left guard? Check. Center? Check. Right tackle? Check. And it was his first game of the season.
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8. Cameron Flemming: Flemming explained after the game that changing from right to left tackle was just a matter of “switching his feet’’ and “flipping the playbook’’ in his head. That’s much harder than it sounds, and much harder than Flemming made it look.
9. Rob Ninkovich: His position-mate Chandler Jones was credited with a sack, but Ninkovich continued to do the heavy lifting for the defensive line. He had a fumble recovery and four tackles, and according to NESN.com, three quarterback hits, and a hurry. His four-yard tackle for loss came in the red zone and seemed to ruin Washington’s rhythm on the second-quarter drive; they settled for a field goal.
10. Fox Sports: Julian Edelman? Danny Amendola? Ugh, who cares, just run the graphic.
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Fantastic photos from Patriots vs. Redskins
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