New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount suffered a hip injury during his team’s Sunday Night Football victory over the Houston Texans, and the team announced he would not return to the game.
Brandon Bolden received the bulk of the carries in Blount’s absence. After Sunday’s 27-6 win, the Patriots will prepare for a Week 15 matchup against a Tennessee Titans team that has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to running backs this season, per ESPN.com.
This was Bolden’s most productive game of the season in terms of carries and yards, but he has yet to find the end zone on the ground this year.
Though Bolden got the lion’s share of the carries, James White found paydirt on the ground for the Patriots.
The outlook for both is cloudy. Head coach Bill Belichick is notorious for using multiple running backs and going back and forth between his ball-carriers.
There is no way to know which back will perform the best in Week 15, but considering White hasn’t carried the ball more than three times in a game and Bolden had 16 carries Sunday, Bolden should be the lead back.
However, don’t be surprised if White does see an increase in carries if Blount is out.
White does get a bump for his ability in the passing game. He caught 10 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in a Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s tough to rely on a running back to catch passes in order to have a good game, so consider Bolden a low-end RB2 for his workload and past experience and White an RB3.
Just don’t be surprised if Belichick decides to have Tom Brady pass the ball 45 to 50 times—because Belichick does what Belichick wants to do.
Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com
