FOXBOROUGH — LeGarrette Blount missed a pair of practices midweek with an undisclosed illness, so it was logical to think his workload would decrease Saturday night.

However, that likely was the plan anyway, as the big tailback has been sharing the load with Dion Lewis, who continues to become a bigger part of the offense week by week. Lewis missed the first nine weeks as he recovered from multiple knee surgeries.

Over the last three weeks of the regular season, Blount had 51 rushes for 132 yards, while Lewis has 45 rushes for 195 yards. Additionally, Lewis had five catches for 18 yards over that span.

The depth at running back has been a big key down the stretch as Blount, Lewis, and James White have shared the wealth, allowing all three to have fresh legs.

Blount only had eight carries for 31 yards in the Patriots’ 34-16 victory over the Texans in the AFC divisional round, while Lewis gained 41 yards on 13 carries. Blount also was outscored by Lewis (3 TDs) and White (1), 4-0.

Lewis, a man of a million moves, has shown this season that despite his comparative lack of size for the position (5 feet 8 inches, 195 pounds), he can run effectively between the tackles.

“He’s just another productive player for us on offense, another good skill player,’’ coach Bill Belichick said last week. “We won a lot of games without him. We’ve also won a lot of games with him and he’s given us a lot of production in those games.’’

Entering the playoff game against Houston — Lewis’s first taste of postseason play — New England was 14-0 when the speedster is in the lineup. Make that 15-0.

“He’s certainly a different type of runner than LeGarrette as an inside runner,’’ said the coach. “It’s the same plays but it’s not really the same . . . LeGarrette has his style of running. Dion has his style . . . It’s great to have him. The more of them you have, I think the better off we are.’’

Led by Blount’s 1,168 yards, the Patriots rushed for 1,872 yards, this season, 117.0 per game, good for seventh in the NFL. They only had 98 yards against the Texans, led by Lewis’s 41.

Mitchell sits out

Malcolm Mitchell headlined the list of Patriots inactives as the rookie receiver continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in Week 16 against the Jets.

Mitchell, who has had a solid season with 32 catches for 401 yards and 4 touchdowns, was at practice all week, though he spent the entire media window Thursday riding the stationary bike.

The decision to rest Mitchell was made easier by the return of Danny Amendola, who was active for the first time since suffering a high ankle sprain fielding a punt against Baltimore Dec. 12. He went without a catch on two targets Saturday night but he had one touch — a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots’ other inactives were rookie corner/returner Cyrus Jones, corner Justin Coleman, safety Jordan Richards, running back D.J. Foster, quarterback Jacoby Brissett, and offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle.

The Texans deactivated safety Quintin Demps (the team leader with six interceptions) because of a balky hamstring, linebackers John Simon and Max Bullough, guard Josh Walker, defensive end Ufomba Kamalu, receiver Wendall Williams, and quarterback Brandon Weeden.

Everybody ready

The Patriots have built significant depth at several positions that were lacking last season, specifically at cornerback and receiver. In the days leading up to the clash with the Texans, Belichick talked about keeping depth players on their toes and ready for action.

As the adage goes, the supporting cast is just one play away from the sideline to the biggest stage.

“Yeah, every player that’s on our roster, including the practice squad players . . . those guys are all important,’’ said the coach. “Their role and their development is critical, so yeah, they’ve been told plenty of times and we spend a lot of time with those players.’’

Belichick said those players get reps in practice just like the starters.

Social injustice?

While he was under siege on the Gillette Stadium turf Saturday night, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also took some shots on social media.

First, after Brady lobbied unsuccessfully for a roughing-the-passer penalty after being taken down by Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney, former NFL linebacker Ray Lewis weighed in.

“It’s called football Brady,’’ Lewis tweeted.

Then, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas added his thoughts on Brady while the game continued.

“Tom Brady has the easiest route . . . put his [rear] in our division and see what he does!!! #salty!!’’ Thomas tweeted.

Meanwhile, at the game, fans disagreed with Lewis and Thomas. They chanted “MVP’’ as Brady and the Patriots mopped up a victory over the Texans that sent New England to its sixth straight AFC Championship game.

Passing stats

Julian Edelman collected eight passes for 137 yards and has the franchise lead for most postseason receptions with 76 — he passed Wes Welker, who had 69. Edelman is tied for seventh in NFL history with Thurman Thomas. He also passed legends Art Monk (69), Fred Belinikoff and Anquan Boldin (70), and Cliff Branch (73) Saturday night.

Stephen Gostkowski scored 10 points and is fourth on the NFL’s all-time postseason scoring list with 142. Only Adam Vinatieri (234), David Akers (175), and Gary Anderson (153) are ahead of him.

Hogan injured

Chris Hogan left the game in the third quarter with a thigh injury and did not return.

He retreated to the locker room but later came back to the sideline and did some jogging. He was spotted in the postgame locker room without a noticeable limp.

Record return

Lewis had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter, the first kickoff return for a score in Patriots playoff history.

Lewis also became the first player in NFL playoff history to have a touchdown rushing, receiving, and on a kickoff return in the same game.

Roger that

Asked if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was welcome at Gillette Stadium, team president Jonathan Kraft said, “I’ll let you ask the league office about that. I don’t know how they determine where he goes. You should probably ask Park Avenue how [his itinerary] gets determined.’’ Goodell attended Saturday’s Seahawks-Falcons game in Atlanta . . . Saturday night marked the 32nd postseason game of Brady’s career — the equivalent of two extra seasons for the 17-year veteran . . . Brady has a 13-2 playoff mark when the temperature was 40 degrees or lower, as it was Saturday night (28). “It’s perfect [weather],’’ said Kraft. “That’s why we don’t build domes up here in the Northeast.’’ . . . Belichick is 14-0 in Saturday home games with the Patriots (playoffs included) . . . The Patriots advanced to their sixth straight AFC Championship game, breaking the record they shared with the Oakland Raiders (1973-77). New England is 8-1 all time vs. the Texans, winning the last six . . . Brissett worked out before the game and was whizzing 50-yard picture-perfect bombs to the end zone with ease . . . Houston linebackers coach and former Patriot Mike Vrabel went through an exhaustive wind sprint routine about four hours before the game . . . The national anthem was sung by Nyah K. Macklin, who studied at Brandeis . . . One of the loudest boos of the night came when the Gillette Stadium scoreboard offered details on how to win tickets to Justin Bieber’s summer concert at the stadium. Sorry, Beliebers.

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.