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New England Patriots Must Find Ground Game Success To Topple Green Bay Packers

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By @calling_allfans

Patriots at Packers

Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

Two of the hottest, if not the two hottest, teams will face off this Sunday when the New England Patriots (9-2) take on the Green Bay Packers (8-3) at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Both teams are leading their respective divisions and have their sights set on playing in the Super Bowl in Arizona this February. In my preseason picks I had the Patriots coming out of the AFC and the Packers coming out of the NFC. There’s still a lot of football left, but there’s good reason to believe these teams could be the last two standing. Both teams want to win on Sunday to increase their division leads and take another step towards securing the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences. But what do the Patriots specifically need to do to beat the Packers on the road on Sunday?

Run the ball.

Everyone knows this game will feature two of the best QBs in the NFL in Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers and everyone will be focused on both No. 12s on Sunday. Brady has thrown 26 TDs and only six interceptions this season, and the Patriots receivers are making more and more plays each week. The offensive line has also given Brady much better protection during New England’s seven-game win streak. But Sunday’s game won’t necessarily be won on the arm of Brady, even though he is obviously capable of putting up great numbers.

The NFL may be a passing league and the Patriots do have one of the best QBs of all time, but if they are successful running the football on Sunday they will definitely continue their current win streak. New England is averaging 113.4 rushing yards (15th) this season, and with Jonas Gray expected to play after being benched against the Detroit Lions in Week 12 along with the addition of LeGarrette Blount after he was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Patriots have two different kinds of running backs to utilize. Additionally, with Brady behind center, the Packers won’t be able to just load the box to stop the Patriots from running the ball; they’ll have to respect Brady’s ability to throw to the likes of TE Rob Gronkowski or WR Julian Edelman, among others. The Packers also struggle to stop teams from running the ball. Green Bay is currently allowing opponents to rush for 136.7 yards per game (30th).

Sunday’s matchup between the Patriots and Packers may be the best Week 13 matchup featuring two of the NFL’s best QBs, but the Patriots running the ball effectively will be the key to an eighth straight New England victory.

Justin Patrick is a New England Patriots writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @calling_allfans, like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google. You can also email him at [email protected]

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