Michel Finds Hands, Legs in Patriots' Rout of Redskins

"The media is blaming the offensive line, but it's your play calling and the improper utilization of your backs that should be blamed. If you are not going to use Michel in the passing game, why continue to let him run into a brick wall seventeen times a game?Either include him in the passing game, or bench him. Those are your options."

Chatty letter to Josh McDaniels - Foxborough Free Press, 2 October, 2019

The New England Patriots experienced two things on Sunday that had not occurred yet this season.

The first thing was falling behind on the scoreboard, something that not only had not occurred this season, but also had not reared it's ugly head since the fourth quarter of last season's AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs...

The second and most important occurrence was that running back Sony Michel actually contributed in the passing game.

The Patriots fell behind the host Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon at FedEx Field with just over nine minutes remaining in the first quarter on a beautifully designed end-around play that featured no less than three broken tackles along the way and instantly became to longest play from scrimmage surrendered by New England in the 2019 season by a huge stretch...

Michel runs to paydirt against Washington

...producing a lead that the Patriots' offense wasn't able to overcome until early in the second stanza. Actually, the Patriots took the ensuing kickoff and marched right down the field to score a touchdown of their own, but missed the opportunity to completely erase the deficit when newly-signed kicker Mike Nugent shanked the extra point, causing rude grumblings among Patriots' fans.

Nugent made up for his gaffe by hitting the rest of the extra points he attempted and both of his field goal attempts to likely maintain his tenuous status on the roster as the injured Stephen Gostkowski's replacement - but while Patriots' fans are breathing a sigh of relief on Nugent's performance, it pales in comparison to Michel's accomplishments in the Patriots' passing game.

Michel caught only three passes in as many targets for 33 yards against the Redskins, but his inclusion in the passing game had a major residual effect on the performance of New England's offensive attack.

In the 2018 season, a trend emerged that focused on the fact that in eight out of every ten snaps that Michel was on the field, the Patriots ran the ball, and ran it successfully, but this offseason New England suffered a debilitating amount of attrition that affected the quality of their run blocking...

...losing left tackle Trent Brown and tight end Dwayne Allen to free agency and All-World tight end Rob Gronkowski to retirement, then losing center David Andrews in the preseason and fullback James Develin in their second contest of the regular season - a series of misfortune that seriously impacted the running game, especially with Michel in the lineup as opposing defenses stacked the box against him.

Mostly because Michel wasn't considered a threat in the passing game, so he faced clogged running lanes that ordinarily wouldn't have been an issue, were it not for all of the Patriots' losses along the line. By comparison, running backs James White and Rex Burkhead often found running room when they populated the backfield, both averaging almost double the yards per carry that Michel had.

This isn't coincidence, as both White and Burkhead are major threats in the passing game, so opposing defenses didn't dare stack the box against them in fear of leaving them uncovered in the flat.

So offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels decided to include Michel in the passing game early in the contest with the Redskins, catching two passes for 26 yards in the first half as part of a game plan that saw quarterback Tom Brady drop back to pass 12 times in the first 14 scripted plays to start the game...

...also targeting seldom-used tight ends Ryan Izzo and Matt Lacosse, adding diversity to what had been a predictable attack, and the results were everything we thought the Patriots should be, as New England scored 33 unanswered points after spotting the Redskins the fluke touchdown run, running their undefeated record to 5-0 with an awesome second half assault that blew Washington out of their own building and cost their head coach his job.

The impact of targeting Michel in the passing game cannot be overstated. as the ploy opened up his running lanes to the tune of 91 yards on just 16 carries, including a 15 yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Leading just 12-9 at halftime but appearing to be on the verge of breaking out into to something very proper, Michel and the Patriots opened up the second half by scoring on long drives of 75, 88 and 58 yards to break the game open, all the while the Patriots' defense completely shutting down the Redskins' anemic offense.

After allowing the long touchdown run and moderate success to Washington on a few other first half drives, New England's defense allowed just 92 yards in the final two quarters, forcing five straight punts and allowing the Redskins to cross midfield only twice, never to penetrate further than the New England 47 yard line.

In fact, if one were to eliminate the 65 yard touchdown run and the yardage gained in garbage time at the end of the game, New England's defense allowed just 132 yards on the day. As it was, Washington's quarterback Colt McCoy passed for only 70 net yards, while the Redskins' running game put together decent stats in going for 145 yards on 20 carries...

...but when eliminating the aforementioned touchdown run and garbage time when New England was in pure prevent mode, their total was a more reasonable 57 yards on 15 carries.

In all, the Patriots' defense held Washington to 1 of 11 on third down, forcing ten punts and causing turnovers on two more possessions and collected six sacks, helping them hold onto the league lead in points per game, yards per game, third down efficiency, sacks, and a myriad of other statistics that make them the best defense in the NFL by a wide margin.

The offense is still a work in progress, with "progress" being the key word.

Brady had a decent day throwing the ball, completing 28 of 42 passes for 348 yards and three scores, but another red zone interception while trying to force a ball to White at the goal line left a puzzling black smudge in his performance and marking the second consecutive game when an interception deep in enemy territory ended potential scoring drives.

Wide receiver Julian Edelman enjoyed his best day of the season with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, White coming in next with six catches for 46 yards to go with 26 yards on six carries on the ground and Josh Gordon chipping in with 59 tough yards on five catches.

The lone down note, with the exception of Brady's red zone gaffe, was that he was sacked four times and suffered an immense amount of pressure on a dozen other drop backs, three of those sacks and most of the pressures coming in the first half, while the Patriots attempted to incorporate Michel and the tight ends in the passing game.

But the second half was all Patriots, much of their success thanks to McDaniels for finally flashing Michel in the passing game which opened running lanes and decreased the pressure Brady felt in the process.

Noe the Patriots have a short week in which to build upon their new-found philosophy, as they host the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium before a national television audience on Thursday night.