New England Patriots: 3 Players that must show up big vs. Steelers in Week 1
3. Sony Michel
The first player that will have to have a solid game and show up big for New England is running back Sony Michel. Michel, who is entering his sophomore season with the Patriots in 2019 after putting together a strong rookie campaign a year ago, spent a majority of 2018 splitting a bulk of the carrying duties alongside James White within New England’s offense.
The 24-year old running back appeared in 13 games for the Patriots throughout the 2018 regular season, starting in eight of those games.
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He finished with 931 rushing yards on 209 attempts, also tallying a total of seven touchdowns. While also finishing with 50 receiving yards on seven total catches, Michel averaged 71.6 rushing yards per contest for the Super Bowl Champions.
Sunday’s game will likely be an offensive-heavy contest, as it seems to always be when the Patriots and Steelers square off.
With Tom Brady’s ability to air things out behind center for New England, it will be crucial for the Patriots to open that passing game up even more with the efforts of their running back group and their ability to hurt the Pittsburgh defense on the ground.
A year ago, New England averaged a total of 127.3 rushing yards per contest, which ranked fifth in the NFL. On the other side of the field, Pittsburgh averaged 90.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked 31st in the league.
It will be important for the Patriots to take advantage of that phase of the game once again on the big stage against a tough Steelers team on Sunday Night Football. Any Michel, with assistance from White, will be a key part in accomplishing that.
The Patriots displayed their ability to not only air out the ball, but to counter that and balance the offense with their running game in 2018. Such will need to be the case right out of the gate to start the new year on Sunday against the Steelers.