Sony Michel, Run Game Catapulted Patriots to Victory for First Time This Season
Sony Michel hasn't had an ideal start to the 2019 season. Through four games, the second-year back managed just 171 yards on 62 attempts, which is good for 2.7 yards per attempt. Michel did rank very last in the NFL in broken tackles in September and was 44th out of 45 qualified runners in YPC, but the offensive line woes for the Patriots haven't helped either, as they have not given him many opportunities to get downfield and gain chunks of yards.
In the New England Patriots' 33-7 win over the Washington Redskins, Michel finally found some running room against a defense that is one of the worst in the league at defending the rush. He rushed 16 times for 91 yards and a touchdown, while also adding a career-high three catches for 32 yards. The Week 5 win not only marked the best rushing performance of the season for Michel, but it also was the first game in which the run game helped New England add to their win column.
New England oddly strayed away from the run game in the first half of the game, rushing the ball just seven times, with three of the carries going to James White. However, when the second half begun, the Patriots put an emphasis on the run game immediately, which had a big impact on the game.
On the seven-play, 75-yard drive to open the 3rd quarter, Michel rushed the ball four times, which is the same amount of carries he had in the first 30 minutes of play. Brandon Bolden also had one carry on the drive. The result - 21 yards on the ground and a touchdown on their first offensive possession of the half, to go along with four minutes of killed time.
"I think one thing that did help was the play count got up there pretty high," said Tom Brady during his postgame press conference when asked how the offense found more of a rhythm in the second half. "We had a quite a few plays by halftime. Any time you feel like you do that, you feel like you're are going to ware a team down. Those three yard runs become six (yard runs) and then finally you can break one. Sony (Michel) broke a long one kind of going with our sideline, and then the touchdown run. It was great to see. (Sony Michel) ran hard; he ran his butt off."
The Patriots offense controlled 16 minutes of time on offense in the final 30 minutes of play, which helped edge out Washington for possession time in the game (Patriots had 31 minutes of possession, Redskins had 28). Michel had 12 carries and a touchdown in the second half, which helped bump a weak 12-7 lead at halftime into a blowout win for the undefeated Patriots.
In a Week 5 battle that involved a lot of mental mistakes and poor play out of the gates for New England, the team managed to play hard-nosed in the second half by giving the ball to their young back. The Patriots are now 11-0 when Michel scores a touchdown, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Michel has been patiently waiting to show everyone he isn't in the midst of a sophomore slump, and his outing vs. the Redskins helps Michel prove he in fact right.
Against a middle-of-the-pack New York Giants defense next Thursday night, Michel should be able to continue his success in back-to-back weeks.
