FOXBORO -- Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount combined for four touchdowns in Sunday's 51-17 win over the Jaguars, and the fashion in which each back scored was perfectly indicative of their contrasting -- yet complementary -- skill sets.
One back does it with elusiveness. One back does it with brute force. Together they posted 115 yards on 26 carries in the victory as well as 44 yards on six receptions.
"He does a lot of things well," Blount said of Lewis. "Catching the ball, running routes, getting concepts. He does a lot of that stuff well. That's a lot of the things they have him doing. And obviously you guys know what I can do."
At 6-feet, 250 pounds, Blount provides the Patriots with a uniquely powerful force. All three of his touchdowns in the game came from just one yard out with the Patriots deploying a heavy set in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage in those situations.
Lewis, though he can run with power as he did last week during a short touchdown run against the Bills, is quicker and can make defenders miss in tight spaces thanks to his athleticism and 5-foot-8, 195-pound frame. There is a lost-in-the-trees element to his game that showed up in the first quarter during his eight-yard score.
Stopped in his tracks at the line of scrimmage, Lewis side-stepped to his right, forced Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny to whiff on a tackle, and scampered into the end zone almost untouched.
"Just being patient, just trying to find something," Lewis said. "Let the blocks develop in front of me, and the rest is all me. I gotta make a play. When they're blocking hard for me, I gotta make them look good. That's what I tried to do."
New England Patriots
Blount, who grew up in Florida, said he could see the similarities in the rushing attack the Patriots have in 2015 and the one the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had in late 1990s and early 2000s with power back Mike Alstott and the team's speedier option in Warrick Dunn. Both players made the Pro Bowl in 1997 and 2000.
"I love Warrick Dunn and the Mike Alstott comparison," Blount said. "They're one of the two best that's ever had that kind of running style, with the big back and the other back so I like the comparison. Me and Dion kind of do our own thing. We complement each other really well. He does his things really well, and I do my things really well so that's a perfect combination, you can't beat it."
Blount was suspended for the first game of the season, and his role was reduced in Week 2 when the Patriots were hosted by Buffalo and they opted for a heavy passing attack against the Bills talented defensive front.
But Week 3 was an opportunity for both styles of running back to show that they could be productive when given an opportunity. Lewis was again the starter and the top back as the team built its lead, then Blount got his shot to help the team salt away its victory.
"Dion is playing exceptional he's playing really well," Blount said. "We got everything rolling. We got all cylinders running. Obviously there's a lot of things we gotta work on. We're not perfect, but so far we're good. Good enough to be 3-0."