Lewis makes personal statement
RB takes ‘cheap’ shot at his old team
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Patriots never made an official offer to Dion Lewis in free agency.
Instead, they opted to resign Rex Burkhead and draft
Sony Michel to fill Lewis’ spot in the backfield.
Suffice to say Lewis was looking forward to this game.
In an interview with the NFL Network following the Titans’ 34-10 destruction of the Patriots, Lewis was asked if the game was “personal.”
“Hell yeah it’s personal,” Lewis said. “That’s what happens when you go cheap. You get your ass kicked.”
Lewis continued to pour it on.
“I didn’t have to prove anything,” he said. “I know I can play. I just had to let our team know that these guys are beatable...I know those guys. I know that you (can) be physical with them and let ’em have it and they’ll fold.”
Lewis carried 20 times for only 57 yards, but he was a factor early. He had rushes of 10 and 11 yards on Tennessee’s second scoring drive.
With the Titans, Lewis has quickly become a workhorse running back. He’s touched the ball at least 20 times in each of the past three games.
Unlike Lewis, former Patriots Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler took the high road.
“It’s not personal,” Butler said. “I wanted to win though. I want to beat
everybody I go against. No bad blood. Nothing but respect for them. They most definitely spoke to me (after the game). Mr. (Robert) Kraft,
(Bill) Belichick, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator. You know those guys love me. They showed me nothing but love.”
Butler entered the Week 10 game struggling, but he delivered a solid performance. Tom Brady hardly threw his way.
Ryan sacked Brady and broke up a pass intended for
Julian Edelman on a fourthand-6 in the fourth quarter.
“He got on me early in the game, and luckily he did, because I got him at the end on fourth down,” Ryan said of his matchup with Edelman. “I think it was just a battle between me and him, getting a little chippy. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Sore spots
Edelman was slow to leave the field after Ryan knocked away a pass on fourth-and-6 with 10:53 remaining in the game.
Edelman did not return to the game.
The team listed him with an ankle injury.
“We’ll see,” Edelman said of his status. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow.” Offensive tackle Trent
Brown left with a back injury. Brown attempted to play through the injury, but couldn’t finish the game. Tight end Dwayne Allen sustained a knee injury and left the game.
Michel returns
The Patriots got their No. 1 runner back in the mix.
Unfortunately, it didn’t matter.
New England’s running game was a non-factor, as the Pats fell behind by double digits early. There were spurts of effectiveness for Michel, but the talented rookie finished with 31 yards on 11 carries.
“It’s all us,” Michel said. “It’s all about us. We have to go out there and execute better than them. They had a great team, they were prepared, and they out-executed us.”
Michel has missed time this season with two sepa- rate knee injuries. Most recently, he sat out of Weeks 8 and 9.
“It’s a growing process,” Michel said. “When you go through things, you have to go through that process and you have to deal with it.”
Gronk held out
The Pats were without tight end Rob Gronkowski for the third time in their past four games. He’s dealing with ankle and back injuries. The Pats are hoping to have him back after their Week 11 bye. If he plays in Week 12 against the Jets, he’ll have had 27 days of rest between games.
For the season, Gronkowski has caught 29 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown.
Right guard Shaq Mason missed his second consecutive game with a calf injury.