New England Patriots: Positives and negatives from 2020 season

New England Patriots Positive: Running game remained dominant in 2020

One positive that took place specifically on the offensive side of the ball for the Patriots was the fact that their running game once again returned to form and was dominant yet again in 2020.

Overall, the offense in New England wasn’t that impressive and wasn’t really able to do a whole lot in order to stay in games on a weekly basis. But one aspect that kept the team in games more often than not was the run game and the ability to try and take advantage of opposing defenses.

During the regular season, the Patriots ranked near the top in the NFL in rushing, finishing the year with a total of 502 rush attempts which ranked third-most among offenses in the league. New England tallied a total of 2,346 yards rushing (fourth in NFL), 4.7 yards per carry (tied for seventh in NFL) and 20 touchdowns (tied for sixth in NFL) on the ground.

Leading the way for that unit was the trio of Damien Harris, Cam Newton and Sony Michel, with all three of those players compiling at least 440 yards rushing during the year.

Harris finished with 137 carries for 691 yards and two touchdowns, with Newton adding 137 carries for 592 yards and 12 touchdowns and Michel tallying 79 rushes for 449 yards and one touchdown.

Although the offense struggled most of the 2020 season, the running game was solid once again and is something to build upon moving forward.