Alvin Kamara caught 11 passes for 96 yards against the Rams on Sunday, and I would think that would get the attention of New England’s coaches. They’ve got a running back who can create a lot of the same kind of mismatches in the passing game.
James White isn’t as talented or dynamic as Kamara, but he’s one of the league’s best pass-catching running backs. He’s caught 106 passes in 17 games, including 7 TDs. He also was a factor at Arrowhead converting third downs on draw plays.
The Patriots have long been one of the best teams at utilizing running backs in the passing game anyway, dating back to their work with Kevin Faulk and Danny Woodhead. They’ve come up huge at times in previous Super Bowls. White caught 14 passes for 110 yards in the win over Atlanta, and Shane Vereen (the previous holder of this role) caught 11 passes for 64 yards in the win over Seattle five years ago. White caught 15 passes in a playoff win over the Chargers two weeks ago.
In their last 17 playoff games, the Patriots have completed 85 passes to their third-down backs (Vereen and White). In those games, the holder of that third-down role has averaged 60 total yards per game, with 11 touchdowns.
NEW ENGLAND'S THIRD-DOWN BACKS IN PLAYOFFS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Opp | Result | Rec-Yd-TD | Run-Yd-TD |
2012 | Vereen | Hou. | W 41-28 | 5-83-2 | 7-41-1 |
2012 | Vereen | Balt. | L 13-28 | 2-22-0 | 4-16-0 |
2013 | Vereen | Ind. | W 43-22 | 2-16-0 | 5-17-0 |
2013 | Vereen | at Den. | L 16-26 | 5-59-0 | 4-34-0 |
2014 | Vereen | Balt. | W 35-31 | 4-39-0 | 1-6-0 |
2014 | Vereen | Ind. | W 45-7 | 3-41-0 | 1-2-0 |
2014 | Vereen | Sea. | W 28-24 | 11-64-0 | 4-13-0 |
2015 | White | K.C. | W 27-20 | 2-39-0 | 1-5-0 |
2015 | White | at Den. | L 18-20 | 5-45-0 | 5-11-0 |
2016 | White | Hou. | W 34-16 | 1-19-1 | 0-0-0 |
2016 | White | Pitt. | W 36-17 | 3-8-0 | 1-0-0 |
2016 | White | Atl. | W 34-28 | 14-110-1 | 6-29-2 |
2017 | White | Tenn. | W 35-14 | 4-29-1 | 4-11-1 |
2017 | White | Jac. | W 24-20 | 3-22-0 | 3-4-1 |
2017 | White | Phil. | L 33-41 | 2-21-0 | 7-45-1 |
2018 | White | LAC | W 41-28 | 15-97-0 | 0-0-0 |
2018 | White | at K.C. | W 37-31 | 4-49-0 | 6-23-0 |
—Ian Allan