The Patriots’ plan was to come out with four receivers and Taylor in a single-back set, with the offense staying in that personnel grouping throughout its first drive, and ultimately turning it into a no-huddle attack.
For Taylor, that meant adjusting to the tempo that the Patriots like to play.
“It’s good in a live setting, game speed, tempo, just to hear the way Tom [Brady] calls it, just trying to get familiar with it,’’ said Taylor, who finished with seven carries for 26 yards (3.7-yard average) and added one reception for 12 yards.
“I can always do better, but it’s a start. I think that’s the best thing I can say about it, it’s a start, it’s good to go out there and get hit a little bit, get a few bumps and bruises and let your body get acclimated to that. I haven’t really hit the ground in a while.’’
Taylor’s first carry came on the Patriots’ first play, a pound-it-up-the-middle 5-yarder. His longest gain, a 10-yarder over left guard in the second quarter, came out of the more compact two-tight end package.
The best run? It might have been the 2-yarder on third and 1 during the opening drive. Taylor barreled over left tackle to keep the chains moving.
“It was a stretch play to the left and they had a little outside penetration, but when it’s third and short like that, you just want to have efficient runs, smart running,’’ he explained. “You just want to do everything in your will to get the first down. The big run, the touchdown, doesn’t matter at that point. You just want to keep the drive alive.’’
Taylor’s hard-nosed run advanced the ball to the Bengals’ 18, but things fizzled from there, leading to a Stephen Gostkowski 32-yard field goal. Taylor’s efficient run was one of the last Patriots highlights of the night.
From a scheme perspective, the Bengals countered with their nickel package (five defensive backs) against the Patriots’ four-wide package, which gave Taylor a preview of what he might see during the regular season.
