The Patriots finally have a bell-cow running back. Not since the days of Corey Dillon have the Pats had the type of clock-killing back that they do now in rookie Sony Michel.
Michel was key in New England’s wild 43-40 victory over the Chiefs on Sunday night as he scampered for 106 yards on 24 carries. The back out of Georgia also found the end zone twice on the night.
It was the third straight game Michel has ran for over 98 yards as he had 112 against the Dolphins two weeks ago, 98 against the Colts and the aforementioned 106 against Kansas City.
“Sony runs hard,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said after the Patriots moved to 4-2 on the season. “He’s picked up a lot of tough yards for us, so that was a big run. We were able to get it in from the 1-yard line on the goal line and that third-and-1. Those were key situations.”
The Patriots seemingly dismissed the idea of a featured back for many years, instead taking a running-back-by-committee approach. But when Rex Burkhead went down with an injury a few weeks back, Michel became the main man.
Michel’s first two games in the NFL weren’t exactly inspiring as he ran the ball 10 times against Jacksonville for just 34 yards and 14 times against Detroit for just 50 yards. But something has clicked these past few weeks, and Michel looks ready to thrive.
