Ridley ran 21 times for 125 yards.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Stevan Ridley was just hoping to get a few touches and make a couple positive plays.
He never thought that he'd end up serving as the catalyst of the offense during the Patriots' 34-13 win over the Titans Sunday and end up carrying the ball 21 times for 125 yards.
"It's a dream come true to be out there playing on Sunday -- like I said, I'm very blessed," Ridley said. "To just get out there and play is all I want to do. (21) carries is more than I was expecting."
Ridley showed good burst in his first performance since BenJarvus Green-Ellis took off for Cincinnati during the offseason during free agency, but his best work came during a third-quarter scoring drive where he accounted for 35 of New England's 48 yards.
The second-year running back bounced outside the left tackle for a 15-yard gain on his first carry of the series, then took the ball to the right for a gain of five. On the next play, he ran up the gut for a gain of 14 and capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Head coach Bill Belichick was pleased with Ridley's performance but gave credit to the offensive line.
"It always starts up front. The offensive line did a good job. We had some good holes, the backs ran hard," Belichick said. "Stevan ran hard, broke some tackles. Our tight ends, our offensive line and our receivers blocked so it was good. A good complimentary game. We had good balance offensively."
Ridley, who ran 87 times for 441 yards last season, agreed with Belichick's assessment of the offensive line, though added that getting in a zone early put him in a position to succeed.
"When you get days like today and you're running the ball well you can definitely feel it," Ridley said. "There were some runs that were there and there some that weren't. The coaches just did an exceptional job of finding the ones that were doing well and they just kept calling them until they stopped them. ... I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, I was just the player that I was and went out there and played ball."