Rex Burkhead expected to return from knee injury in AFC Championship
The New England Patriots showed in their win over the Tennessee Titans on Saturday that they can beat you a lot of different ways, and they will have one more weapon at their disposal in the AFC Championship Game this weekend.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Rex Burkhead is expected to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
#Patriots RB Rex Burkhead, who hasn’t played since Dec. 17 because of a knee sprain, is expected to return for the AFC title game, source said. He was close vs. the #Titans, should be good vs. the #Jaguars.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2018
As Rapoport noted, Burkhead has been out since he left New England’s Week 15 win over the Steelers with a knee injury. The running back had scored five touchdowns in his previous four games prior to suffering the sprain.
Burkhead is effective in both the pass and run games, which will be important for the Patriots against Jacksonville’s elite defense. Super Bowl LI hero James White stepped up by scoring two touchdowns last weekend after he was also injured toward the end of the season, so it seems like New England is getting healthy at the right time. The more versatility they have against the Jags, the better off they will be.