It Doesn't Look Like Patriots Will Have To Deal With 49ers Leading Rusher Raheem Mostert
BOSTON (CBS) -- After being gashed by Broncos running back Philip Lindsay in a frustrating Week 6 loss, the Patriots won't have to worry about facing San Francisco's leading rusher this weekend. 49ers running back Raheem Mostert is expected to land on IR this week with a high ankle sprain that he suffered last Sunday.
Mostert leads all San Fran running backs with 303 yards on 51 carries this season, picking up an impressive 5.9 yards-per-carry over his four games. He has two touchdowns on the season (one rushing and one receiving), adding 11 receptions for 150 yards to his ground attack.
But the Patriots defense, which has allowed 120 rush yards over the first five games this season, won't have to worry about Mostert picking up big yards this weekend. Instead, they'll likely have to deal with Jimmy Garoppolo handing off to Jerick McKinnon and rookie JaMycal Hasty. McKinnon leads the team with three rushing scores this season to go with 211 yards on the ground, averaging 5.1 yards on 41 carries.
Hasty, who went undrafted out of Baylor, gave San Francisco a spark off the bench in Sunday's win over the L.A. Rams, rushing for 37 yards on nine carries in the second half after Mostert went down.
San Francisco is also dealing with an injury to starting center Ben Garland, who may also land on IR with a calf strain he suffered against the Rams.
The 2-3 Patriots are looking to snap a two-game skid when they host the 49ers at Gillette Stadium this weekend.
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-49ers clash on WBZ-TV! Pregame coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m., and after the game switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!