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Darren McFadden, Raiders will test Patriots’ rush defense – Metro US

Darren McFadden, Raiders will test Patriots’ rush defense

The good news for the Patriots is that their porous passing defense shouldn’t be tested too stiffly Sunday.

The rush defense??That’s a different story.

With Darren McFadden leading the way, the Raiders have developed into perhaps the NFL’s best running team. So while they shouldn’t give the Pats’ league-worst (377 ypg) pass ‘D’ too much trouble, we will find out whether Vince Wilfork and Co., can stop an elite ground attack.

“They definitely like to run the ball,” coach Bill Belichick said yesterday. “They have good backs [and] a good offensive line. They emphasize it a lot — you can see they’re pretty good at it. Those backs are really special. They throw enough deep balls and they do enough in the passing game to make you worry about that too. You can’t just stop one thing.”

McFadden, who broke out with an 1,157-yard campaign in 2010, is leading the NFL with 393 rushing yards through three games. He’s already scored three rushing touchdowns — nearly half his previous career high.