Dion Lewis: A Brief Introduction to the Patriots Running Back
The Patriots beat the Steelers rather thoroughly last night (a last second Pittsburgh touchdown resulted in a misleading final score of 28-21), and if you were watching the game you probably noticed number 33 for New England with the ball in his hands quite a lot. That would be Dion Lewis, the 24-year-old running back from the University of Pittsburgh. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round back in 2011, but had just 36 rushing attempts and three receptions in his career heading into last night.
That apparently wasn’t a concern for New England. With first string running back LeGarrette Blount serving a one-game suspension, Lewis led the Patriots with 15 carries, triple the amount of Brandon Bolden, the only other back handed the ball in the game. He caught four passes as well and totaled 120 yards, 69 on the ground and 51 through the air. While it was clearly Rob Gronkowski‘s day, the All-Pro tight end caught three of Tom Brady‘s four touchdown passes, the performance of Lewis gave the Patriots a significant boost as well.
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So what do know about New England’s latest unexpected contributor? Well, he went to the University of Pittsburgh, as mentioned, and he had himself a pretty epic freshman season. We’re talking 1,799 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns. He was named a second-team All-American and declared for the draft after a somewhat less productive sophomore year.
Lewis appeared in 15 games as a rookie, but only nine the following season. In fact, his most recent snaps in an NFL game before last night came all the way back on December 30th, 2012. Yes, 2012. A fractured fibula kept him off the field in 2013 and he didn’t catch on with a team the following year.
So how does a guy nearly three years removed from his last regular season action come in and play a key role in the offense for the reigning Super Bowl champs? Credit Bill Belichick’s knack for utilizing players disregarded by the rest of the league, and also the perseverance of Lewis himself, who clearly didn’t give up after a rough start to his pro career.
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What can we expect from the running back moving forward? It’s hard to say. Blount returns next week and Lewis did have a fumble near the goal line in the 4th quarter. Fortunately Gronkowski recovered and the Patriots scored, but Belichick is famously harsh on players for making precisely those type of mistakes.
Still, Lewis has the potential to fill a void left by Shane Vereen, who signed with the New York Giants in the offseason, and was a consistent weapon catching the ball for New England last year. Lewis showed a similar ability against Pittsburgh. His fumble came at the end of a 19-yard catch-and-run on which he nearly scored. He’s a much smaller player than Blount (5′ 9″, 195 pounds, compared to 6′ 1″, 250) and could see time as the go-to back in certain 3rd down situations.
Or he might spend the next few weeks on the sidelines. You never can tell will the Patriots. Last year Jonas Gray had an insane one-game performance running the ball and was barely heard from again. He famously missed practice the following Friday amidst all the fanfare and landed in Belichick’s dog house for the remainder of the season, and apparently all the way up until he was cut last week. Let’s just hope Lewis has his alarm properly set and an extra tight grip on the ball all week in practice. We’ll see if his run continues September 20th in Buffalo.