FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — As the media entered the Patriots’ locker room following a season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week, Mike Gillislee was making a hasty exit.
The fifth-year running back and first-year Patriot was pulling on his shirt as he walked toward the door, oblivious to the long piece of athletic tape stuck to his right sneaker. Asked if he had a minute to talk after being alerted to the unwanted tape, Gillislee stopped and cleaned his shoe before wordlessly departing.
It was obvious Gillislee, who signed a two-year, $6.4-million contract in April that made him the franchise’s highest paid running back in quite some time, wasn’t pleased with his New England debut.
He wasn’t the only one in a backfield that lacked consistency as the Patriots opened a season with a loss for just the second time in the past 14 seasons.
“We all, as an offense nobody played great,” running back James White said Monday. “As a team, as a whole, we can be better. I think that was the mood leaving the game, that we didn’t have our best performance. So we definitely want to come out here and improve this week.”
The Patriots will spend this week looking to make progress heading into Sunday’s game at New Orleans.
Gillislee was tied for the league lead in scoring with 18 points as of Monday after he rushed for TDs of 2, 2 and 1 yard against the Chiefs. He also picked up two additional first downs.
But Gillislee was stuffed for no gain on fourth and 1 at the Kansas City 10 early in the first quarter after the Patriots passed up a field goal opportunity while leading, 7-0. He also failed to gain a yard on first and goal at the KC 1 before scoring his third TD and came up short on fourth and 1 at the KC 40 with the Patriots trailing by a point with 12:29 left to play.
Gillislee never touched the ball again after that and finished with 45 yards on 15 carries, including 3 yards on 6 carries in the second half, while playing a total of 24 offensive snaps.
Gillislee averaged 3.0 yards per carry despite getting the ball six times behind an eight-man front that included tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen and left tackle Nate Solder as an eligible receiver. That’s well below his career mark of 5.6, including a league-leading 5.7 last season.
Meanwhile, fellow back Rex Burkhead, who signed for one year and $3.15 million after four seasons in Cincinnati, also didn’t provide much bang for those big bucks.
Burkhead caught one of three targeted passes for 8 yards, the reception coming on the second offensive snap of the game, and regularly had trouble gaining separation on his routes despite being defended by a linebacker. He also had three carries for 15 yards, including totes of minus-1 and 2 yards, while playing 10 offensive snaps.
“I think those players are making good progress in our system,” Belichick said Monday of Gillislee and Burkhead. “You know, we all have a long way to go. There are a lot of things that we all can improve on.
“They’re part of it, but they certainly add some explosive play-making ability to the position. So, glad we have them. Glad we’re working with them. Hopefully we can coach them better and make them more productive.”
The Patriots didn’t get great overall production from their backs despite facing a Kansas City defense that ranked 26th in the league against the run last season.
White gained 38 yards on 10 carries. He rushed for two first downs, but was stopped for no gain on third and 1 at the KC 8 late in the first quarter, leading Stephen Gostkowski to boot a 25-yard field goal, and later had a carry for minus-6 yards.
White had three receptions on five targets for 30 yards, with 26 coming on one catch. Dion Lewis was a non-factor with two carries for 9 yards on six offensive snaps.
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