The challenge came down from coach Bill Belichick last week.

According to Patriots players, Belichick threw down the gauntlet in the days leading up to Sunday’s game against the Bills: do a better job running the ball. And in the wake of a pair of shaky performances in the running game -- 28 carries and 90 yards for a 3.2 yards per carry average vs. the Cardinals and 34 carries for 77 yards and a 2.3 YPC average against the Ravens -- the New England running game responded with a virtuoso performance against the Bills.

In Sunday’s 52-28 win over Buffalo, the Patriots as a team had 40 carries for 247 yards, a 6.2 yards per carry average and four rushing touchdowns. Brandon Bolden had 137 rushing yards on 16 carries, while Stevan Ridley added 22 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

“We really got challenged by our coach, who really wanted us to run the ball better than we’ve been running the ball,” said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. “I thought those guys really answered the call.”

The Patriots hadn’t had two runners break the century mark since Tony Collins (103 yards) and Mark van Eeghen (100) did it back on Dec. 19, 1982. While Ridley had 125 rushing yards in the regular-season opener -- and rushed for an average of 5.1 yards per carry in limited action as a rookie -- the bigger surprise was Bolden. An undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss who was considered a long shot to make the roster in the spring, he’s now forced his way into the discussion when you’re talking about options in the New England running game.

In many ways, the two are complementary running backs: Ridley is a more dynamic runner who features speed as a big part of his game. Meanwhile, Bolden is a far more physical presence. That’s not to say he isn’t fast, but there were several situations on Sunday against the Bills where Bolden appeared to seek out contact, knocking over defensive backs on the way to more yards.

“I think Brandon ran well for us in preseason when he had an opportunity,” Belichick said Monday. “He did well in the kicking game and he did well offensively, both running the ball and catching it. That’s kind of how he made the team. He was a productive player in college.

“But, it’s always good to see them do well. Those guys got a lot of help [Sunday] with the offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers. There were some good holes to run through, some good blocking and they ran hard, got extra yards on their own, so a lot of people contributed in the running game. Stevan has done a good job for us too.”

According to Belichick, that ability to get yards “on their own” -- usually at the second level in the open field against linebackers and defensive backs -- is one thing that separates good skill position players from special ones. Both showed that ability Sunday in Buffalo.

“I think the thing that really matters the most with the backs is how many yards they gain on their own,” Belichick said. “Any back can really run until the first guy gets to him -- that’s not really that special. But it’s what guys do after they could or should be brought down, whether they can continue to add yards to the play after that. That’s the mark really of a good runner.

“[That] includes the receivers too; Wes [Welker] did that a couple times, where he caught the pass, broke a tackle, gained some extra yards. Woody [Danny Woodhead] did that on the scramble play for the touchdown. He caught a three, four-yard pass and ended up getting past a couple guys and getting into the end zone. Those plays are, that’s where those players skills show up -- when they have the ball and what they’re able to do with it on their own without that much blocking.”

The combination of Bolden and Ridley aren’t going to break 100 yards every week, but if the Patriots are able to get opposing defenses thinking about stopping the pass before the run, there will be continued opportunities to run the ball. On Sunday, New England frequently took advantage of a Buffalo defense that was thinking pass first, running out there with five and six defensive backs in hopes of slowing down the Patriots’ passing game.

After the game, Brady was asked about bucking conventional wisdom by continuing to run the ball, even though the Patriots were down two touchdowns in the second half.

“You can’t just keep throwing into a heavy pass defense,” Brady shrugged after the game on Sunday. He expanded on that in a conversation with WEEI on Monday morning.

“If teams want to leave their nickel groupings on the field, then we’ve got to be able to -- we ran for [247] yards,” Brady said. “It was a great effort by the offensive line, who played just great yesterday against a defensive front that really improved itself over the course of the offseason.

“Our offensive line really met the challenge,” added the quarterback. “I think you give those guys all the credit in the world to create holes for the running backs, who also did a great job running the ball, finding the holes, taking care of the football, running with good pad level, breaking tackles, yards after contact.”