FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots produced a season-high 220 rushing yards Sunday night in a blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The team’s 46 carries were the most since the Patriots had 54 in an October 2012 win.

There were plenty of factors in the ground success. Certainly, a New England offensive line that struggled through the first month was simply better. A part of that may have been veteran Ryan Wendell, the team’s starting center the last couple seasons, being inserted into the starting lineup at right guard.

Given better blocking from the line, running backs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen also ran better with a combination of patience and decisiveness.

Ridley notched 113 yards on 27 attempts (4.2-yard average), including a career-long 43-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Vereen, the change-of-pace back, took full advantage of his reps in long-yardage and passing sets to pile up 90 yards on just nine attempts.

Another key factor in the big numbers on the ground was the work of the receivers and tight ends blocking at the second level. The offensive line gets credit for opening holes better than it had in four previous games, but the downfield blocking helped turn those chances into even more productive runs.

“That’s how you get big runs is running backs making guys miss (at) the second level and getting blocks from your wide receivers,” coach Bill Belichick said. “(Wide receiver Danny) Amendola had a great block on Vereen’s draw play. He cut back, about a 12-, 14-yard run, whatever it was. Julian (Edelman) is a tough player. Brandon (LaFell), I mean those guys all go in there and block.”

While Ridley has a 1,200-yard season on his resume and has been as productive on goal-line runs and finding the end zone as almost any back in recent years, he hasn’t been a big-play threat with much regularity. The more help he can get downfield, the better the running attack is going to be as the Patriots continue to strive for consistency and an offensive identity.

“When the secondary is converging in on wherever the point of attack is in the running game, you’ve got three or four guys converging in there, it’s hard for a back to avoid all those guys,” Belichick said. “Maybe he can get an edge on one, but if they’re blocked and he can run off those blocks, then that creates good opportunity for a back at the second level. Aaron (Dobson, another wide receiver) made a nice block on Stevan’s (43-yard) run when he ended up bouncing it outside to kind of pin the defender inside so that Rid could get it down the sideline.

“Yeah, those guys account for a lot of extra yards when you get to that level, no question.”

The Patriots’ ground game will face its toughest test of the season Sunday afternoon. New England travels to Buffalo to take on a Bills team that is tied with the Patriots atop the AFC East at 3-2. Buffalo is allowing just 3 yards per carry through the first five games, the second-best mark in the NFL this season.

For the Patriots, who rank 14th in the league in rushing and average an even 4 yards a carry following last Sunday night’s breakout rushing performance — continuing the ground success will be an all-hands-on-deck job in Buffalo. New England must rely on continued improvement from the line, solid running from the backs and a little help from a solid group of downfield blockers at receiver.