James White was in a foot race with Jets linebacker Darron Lee. The game depended on it.

On a fourth-and-4 with three minutes left in the game, the Patriots elected to go for the conversion rather than kicking a field goal. They were trailing, 17-16. Brady evidently liked the matchup between White and Lee, because he wasted no time getting the ball in White’s hands in the right flat. White then beat Lee to the sideline and the first-down marker. The Patriots went on to score the game-winning touchdown to Malcolm Mitchell on that drive.

Related Jamie Collins appears to rip Patriots on Instagram

“If we don’t make that play, it’s hard to win the game,” Brady said of the conversion after the Patriots’ 22-17 win over the Jets. “That was a game-winning play, championship-type play that James made. So he did enough to shake off the tackle and get the first down. It was just a great play.”

via GIPHY

The conversion was reminiscent of plays the Patriots would run with Kevin Faulk or Shane Vereen. It wasn’t dissimilar from Faulk’s 4th-and-2 play against the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 or the routes Vereen ran on the Patriots’ final offense drive of Super Bowl XLIX.

“We’ve been very fortunate at that position between Kevin and Shane and now James,” Belichick said. “We’ve gotten a lot of production out of that, that kind of sub package. Those guys, they don’t always catch the ball. They have to blitz pick up and sometimes they’re in empty, and sometimes they’re in the backfield, and sometimes they’re running receiver-type routes, which takes a lot of extra work. But that position’s been good for us. James, he does a great job. Tom’s certainly been able to utilize his skills as he did again.”

Brady targeted White nine times for four receptions and 22 yards on Sunday. White’s workload has diminished slightly since the return of Dion Lewis, but White is certainly not out of the running back rotation. White received 25 snaps against the Jets while Blount got 27 and Lewis got 23. White has held onto his role in the Patriots’ offense as the third-down back.

Sunday’s game was one of White’s quietest games of the season, but the running back made his mark on the fourth-down conversion.



