By Mark Daniels and Rich Garven @MarkDanielsPJ, @RichGarven TG
FOXBORO — It was only fitting that LeGarrette Blount’s most productive game this season came against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week Seven. In his first game at Heinz Field since being released in 2014, Blount ran for a season-high 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Blount was released by Pittsburgh after walking off the sideline during a Monday night game against Tennessee. He was picked back up by the Patriots that season, and this season he had the best year of his career, rushing for a career-high 1,161 yards and 18 touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Blount said he’s not looking to get revenge against his former team. At this point, he knows bigger things are at stake in the AFC Championship Game.
“Nah. I’m going to go out there and play just like I play against everybody else,” Blount said. “It’s more about us than them. We’re focused on the task at hand. We’re focused on what we’ve got to do to put ourselves in the best position to win.”
Many have talked about the Patriots stopping Le’Veon Bell this weekend, but one can’t forget how Blount torched the Steelers this season. He ran 24 times and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
That game was also a reminder of how well Blount has fit in with the Patriots.
“We find a way to win more than any other team,” Blount said when asked about his success with the Patriots. “We have amazing coaches. We have great players. We have amazing players. It’s a family-oriented team and we do everything we can do to make sure we get W’s.”
Looking forward
Dion Lewis is the only player in NFL history to hit for the touchdown triple crown in a playoff game.
Lewis scored on a 13-yard reception, a 98-yard kickoff return and a 1-yard run in the Patriots’ divisional round win over the Houston Texans. Lewis, though, isn’t interested in reviewing his heroics in the days leading up to Sunday’s meeting with the Steelers.
“The past is the past,” Lewis said Wednesday. “Right now I’m just moving forward and focused on going out there today and having a great practice with my teammates. I have to continue to prepare because it’s a big week for us and we have to stay focused on this week. That’s all that matters.”
Lewis was willing to discuss one aspect of his game against the Texans. That was his fumble on a kickoff return in the second quarter, which the Texans recovered and turned into a touchdown two plays later.
“I just have to consciously know they’re going to go and try to get it,” said Lewis, who fumbled once in seven regular-season games. “I just have to protect it a little bit better. I know what I have to do and I’ll work on it all week and I’ll get it fixed.”
The Steelers tied for ninth in the league with 10 recovered fumbles during the regular season. They’ve recovered three of four fumbles in their two playoff wins.
Injury update
In their first practice of the week, the Patriots had every player on the 53-man roster present on Wednesday.
The Patriots didn’t come out of Saturday’s win over Houston completely unscathed. Chris Hogan left the game in the third quarter with a thigh injury and didn’t return. Martellus Bennett also went down with what looked like a knee injury, but he finished the game. Both players were on the field on Wednesday.
Malcolm Mitchell and Danny Amendola were also on the field. Mitchell didn’t played last weekend due to a knee injury. Amendola played for the first time in over a month after being held out for the final four games with an ankle injury.
Mitchell (knee) and Amendola (ankle) were among seven players limited in practice on Wednesday along with Bennett (knee), Hogan (thigh), Brandon Bolden (knee), Dont’a Hightower (shoulder) and Jabaal Sheard (knee).
The Patriots were missing two practice squad players in practice on Wednesday — fullback Glenn Gronkowski and defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton.