The Patriots’ Kevin Faulk ran five times for 32 yards against the Redskins on Sunday.

Journal / Glenn Osmundson

FOXBORO — With all of the hoopla surrounding Tom Brady and the Patriots’ passing attack on pace to break franchise and NFL records, New England’s running game has kind of been lost in the shuffle.

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels made sure the Redskins had to respect New England’s running attack during New England’s 52-7 triumph on Sunday, the Redskins’ worst loss since 1961.

New England ran the ball 35 times for 152 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns.

The Patriots may not have a “household name” in the backfield, but all of their backs are capable runners.

Second-year pro Laurence Maroney amassed 112 all-purpose yards on Sunday. He is second on the University of Minnesota’s all-time career list with 3,933 yards and 32 touchdowns on 660 rushes (6.0 average), and he did that in only three years.

“It’s good to have him back,” fellow Patriots running back Heath Evans said of Maroney, who missed three games with a groin injury. “He brings an energy to the running-back crew. He has speed, finesse and playmaking ability that has been missed.”

New England coach Bill Belichick was also impressed with Maroney’s performance on Sunday. Maroney averaged 6.4 yards per carry (14 for 75) and 18.5 yards per catch (2 for 37). Maroney has 60 carries for 283 yards (4.7 per rush) this season.

“He showed his strength, breaking out of a couple of tackles, so he made some big plays for us [on Sunday],” Belichick said.

Kevin Faulk is a proven back. He is the Patriots’ all-time leader in receptions by a running back. He passed Gino Cappelletti (292 receptions) for sixth place on the Patriots’ all-time receptions list with seven catches on Sunday. He had 89 all-purpose yards.

“Kevin made some nice plays for us and Heath gave us some quality runs,” Belichick said.

Even though Patriots’ leading rusher, Sammy Morris (384 yards, 3 TDs), missed his second straight game with a chest injury he suffered against the Cowboys, New England’s running backs still averaged 4.8 yards.

The Patriots average 135.8 rushing yards per game, a statistic that few other teams in the NFL can claim.

“The backs did a good job when they had an opportunity,” Belichick said. “They were all productive.”

“This game was an opportunity for the backs to just go out and perform,” Faulk said. “We just had to go out there and do our jobs.”

The Patriots established the run on their opening drive of the game. New England ran the ball eight times on its 14-play opening drive, which Brady capped with a three-yard touchdown run.

Brady was looking for Randy Moss in the back of the end zone but then decided to run for the score.

New England gained 46 yards on the ground on its opening drive, which went 90 yards, with Maroney rushing six times for 36 yards, Faulk once for seven yards and Brady once for the score. The tactic threw off the Redskins’ defense, which began the game in a 4-2-5 alignment to stop the Patriots’ vaunted passing attack.

Once the Redskins put more men in the box to stop the run, the Patriots attacked through the air. New England finished with 486 total yards (152 on the ground and 334 through the air), which led to a franchise-record 34 first downs.

“I don’t know of a weakness that they have,” Washington coach Joe Gibbs said.

Brady threw for three touchdowns and ran for two, and backup quarterback Matt Cassel also added a TD run, marking the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that the Patriots had three rushing TDs in a game by players at the quarterback position.

“I’ll give [the Patriots] credit. They are a great team,” Washington offensive lineman Casey Rabach said.

“They’re very dynamic in everything they do,” Washington quarterback Jason Campbell said of the Patriots. “They’re very precise in their offense and their defense; everything’s very sound. They make plays. That’s one thing that they’re doing is making plays. Right now, they’re clicking on all cylinders in all three phases of the game.”

roblee@projo.com