Emphasis on running game bolsters Pats’ offense

Foxborough, Mass. — This much is clear about the Patriots’ latest run to the AFC Championship Game: It’s come with a lot of introspection and reinvention on offense.

Gone are the days in which New England can just bank on Tom Brady piling up four-touchdown games on a weekly basis or can simply toss the ball in Rob Gronkowski’s orbit in crunch time and expect great things to happen.

Brady, while not showing accelerated signs of decline at age 41, did look more human during his 19th NFL season with only one four-touchdown game and 11 interceptions — his most picks since 2013.

Gronk isn’t as old as Brady, but he’s certainly more beaten up and playing with a body that after multiple injuries and surgeries had him seriously thinking about retirement after last season’s Super Bowl loss.

Following a regular season that saw New England lose five games — its most losses since 2009— coach Bill Belichick recognized the need for this team to lean even more on its collective offensive strength.

The result has been a team that has rediscovered its ability to run the football and wear teams down. New England did that successfully in Sunday’s 41-28 divisionalround win over the Los Angeles Chargers. It will be needed again for New England to upend a youth-led Kansas City Chiefs team in the AFC title game.

“You can’t get one-dimensional in these types of games,” Brady said. “It’s too tough against too many good teams. You get to this point and there’s very little margin of error and you’re going to have to