Patriots played to honor James White in win over Raiders

FOXBORO – A week ago, James White and his family suffered a devastating loss when his father, Tyrone White, was killed in a car crash in Cooper City, Fla. With his mother, Lisa White, left in critical condition, the Patriots running back missed a week’s worth of practices and his second game as his teammates took on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

White may not have been on the field inside Gillette Stadium, but he was certainly in his teammates hearts.

Rex [...]

FOXBORO – A week ago, James White and his family suffered a devastating loss when his father, Tyrone White, was killed in a car crash in Cooper City, Fla. With his mother, Lisa White, left in critical condition, the Patriots running back missed a week’s worth of practices and his second game as his teammates took on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

White may not have been on the field inside Gillette Stadium, but he was certainly in his teammates hearts.

Rex Burkhead said he was playing for his teammate and friend while running over Raiders defensive players and scoring a career-high three total touchdowns. Sony Michel was thinking about White all week before he ran for 117 rushing yards. The Patriots ran over the Raiders on Sunday in their 36-20 win.

Overall, the Patriots finished with 250 total rushing yards. It was only fitting since this game was for their teammate, who’s dealing with tragedy back home.

"For James, it really is tough. A lot of us, we think about him every single day and just his situation," Burkhead said. "He’s an unbelievable person, player and leader for this team. With him away, and of course the situation that him and his family are going through, it’s sad. We just try to go out there and try to play for him and give it our all…. It was rough. It’s tough. He’s a brother to me. I really feel his pain in this whole situation."

The Pats improved to 2-1 behind Burkhead’s three scores to go with seven receptions. Michel (second most rushibg yards of his career) and J.J. Taylor (41 rushing yards) also pitched in. Overall, the trio helped move the chains all day as Cam Newton went 17/28 for 162 yards with a touchdown and interception. The quarterback didn’t look like Superman on Sunday, but that forced the Patriots to adjust.

The passing game might not have looked as smooth as it had over the first two weeks, but that’s when the Patriots running backs took over. In every Patriots scoring drive, a running back played a big part.

When the team was down 3-0, it was Taylor, the undrafted rookie jumpstarting the drive with three carries for 17 yards. A facemask penalty against him also pushed the Pats up 15 yards and helped set up a 33-yard Nick Folk field goal at 12:32 of the second quarter. It was similar on the next series when Taylor rushed for 20 yards on four carries and Burkhead ran for a gain of 17 to set up another Folk field goal, from 23 yards, at 7:56 of the second quarter.

When Newton did throw, Burkhead was the leading man. That too was fitting considering Burkhead was replacing White as the team’s passing back. He led the team in targets and with 34 second left in the first half, Burkhead hauled in a Newton pass on third down and made multiple defenders miss en route to an 11-yard touchdown reception.

"James is a captain for a reason," Newton said. "The thing about it most, when you have a guy like that, you empathize with what he’s going through… You feel it emotionally. We just want to reward him and put him in good spirits… we are excited like heck to get him back here soon. We’ve been praying for him and we need Sweet Feet back."

The Pats still went into the locker room up, 13-10. In the end half, the running backs turned up the heat.

Michel especially turned on the jets. He ran for a 38-yard gain to help set up a 5-yard Burkhead touchdown run at 6:41 of the third quarter. In the next drive, Michel’s 48-yard rush, which was a career long, set up another Folk field goal.

"Throughout the week, especially with him missing from practice, we’re always thinking about (White)," Michel said. "…Thinking about him a lot, texting him back and forth… The rest of the backs have done the same thing. We all came together and played hard. That’s what James White does."

With 5:17 remaining, Burkhead punched in his third touchdown of the afternoon to put the Raiders out reach.

For the Patriots, it was all about their teammate, White.

"One of our brothers is hurt. It puts a lot of things in perspective," Julia Edelman said. "With James White being the man he is, an outstanding guy on the field, in the locker room, off the field – to go through what he’s gone through this last week, our thoughts and prayers have been with him. It did give us motivation to go out and play for him.

"You know for a fact with the guy that James White is, if that happened to one of us he would do the same thing. It’s been a real tough situation and my heart and my prayers and my love and everything goes out to him and his family. He’s definitely huge motivating factor this week."

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ