New England Patriots: Studs and duds vs. Ravens in Week 9
Stud: James White
Over the course of the last few weeks and for a majority of the season up to this point, James White — who is a running back on the depth chart — has served as more of a receiving threat within the New England offense rather than being a threat on the ground.
Within the running game, Sony Michel has been the primary rushing threat for the Patriots over the course of their hot start to this point in the year. With the addition of Sanu, though, that might have resulted in White moving back into more of a running threat to pair alongside Michel on offense.
On Sunday against Baltimore, White led the running attack with 38 yards rushing on nine carries and one rushing touchdown. With an average of 4.2 yards per rush, White tallied a game-long rush attempt of eight yards. He also finished with two catches for 46 yards through the air for the Patriots.
White is an important aspect of the New England offense and he returned back to being more of a running back on Sunday night for the Patriots, while also being a threat through the air as well.
Dud: Julian Edelman
Initially, when you look at how Julian Edelman performed in the game, his stat line is rather impressive. But the wide receiver had a costly turnover in the second half of the contest that allowed Baltimore to expand its lead and ultimately come away with the victory at home.
Edelman, who has been the top wide receiver for the Patriots so far in the 2019 campaign, finished the game against the Ravens with a team-best 89 yards receiving on 10 catches and 11 overall targets. With an average of 8.9 yards per catch, he grabbed a game-long reception of 25 yards for New England.
Edelman, however, had a costly fumble after a reception in the second half that ended up being returned by the Baltimore defense for a touchdown and stretched the game out of reach in the end for the Patriots. That turnover was a big one and changed the course of the game for New England in its first loss of the year.