FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - -When the New England Patriots played the Ravens in October, they averaged less than 3 yards per rush. Starting running back Laurence Maroney, however, questioned the significance of that statistic given the game's outcome.

"Did we win?" Maroney asked facetiously. "Well, it was enough then."

The Patriots relied primarily on quarterback Tom Brady's arm to eke out a 27-21 victory, but Maroney said the team will need better balance to be successful in today's wild-card game at Gillette Stadium, turning serious when discussing just how different this contest could be.

"We definitely have to step the run game up," he said. "As a running back, that's definitely not a good game for us. Averaging 2.9 [yards], that's a hurtful thing. We're just going to go out there and run harder and run better, then hopefully we can average a little bit better."

Maroney has started five games this season and, at times, has looked like the feature back the team wanted him to become after he was selected in the first round of the 2006 draft.

But he has lost four fumbles, including two inside the opposing team's 20-yard line. He was a healthy scratch last week against the Houston Texans, and it remains unclear whether he will be out of coach Bill Belichick's doghouse to have an impact against the Ravens.

The 5-foot-11, 220-pound back out of Minnesota said he will be ready either way and bristled at the idea that he has to redeem himself. Maroney led the team with 757 rushing yards this season and a career-high nine touchdowns.

Until he lost a fumble at the goal line against the Jacksonville Jaguars on the Patriots' first drive Dec. 27, the team had counted on him to be the short-yardage back. But he barely played the rest of that game and was inactive the next week.

Maroney, however, does not appear to be shaken by his fallen status.

"Do I have something to prove to my team or myself? Not really," Maroney said from his locker Friday. "I know how good of a back I am; I think the team knows how good of a back I am. So as far as proving anything, I don't have to prove nothing to nobody."

Belichick does not seem overly concerned with Maroney's fumbles, saying the back has had plenty of repetitions in practice this week to prepare him for the game.

"I'm sure he'll be ready," the coach said. "I don't think Laurence lacks for any confidence. That's the problem with him."

Of the four running backs the Patriots generally activate for games, Maroney is the most dangerous. He is the fastest of the foursome with solid power between the tackles, but he might find himself behind veteran Fred Taylor in number of carries today, as Belichick is known to rely on veterans in deciding games.

Kevin Faulk is expected to be the third-down back and pick up some of the pass attempts normally directed at wide receiver Wes Welker, who is out with a knee injury. Bruising back Sammy Morris is healthy after missing four games this season because of injury and is averaging 4.4 yards a carry.

The running-back-by-committee philosophy helped the Patriots finish 12th in the NFL in rushing, while the Ravens are allowing just 93 yards a game on the ground, fifth in the league. In the past three weeks, three backs have led New England in rushing; Maroney with 81 yards against the Buffalo Bills (Dec. 20), Morris with 95 yards against the Jaguars and Taylor with 33 yards against Houston (last Sunday).

"It starts with our position coach," said Taylor, who signed with the Patriots after 11 seasons in Jacksonville and rushed for 269 yards in 2009. "He does a good job of giving everyone equal opportunity with the reps and preparation."

But it's Maroney - at age 24, the youngest and freshest of all the seasoned backs - who could elevate the Patriots' rushing attack another level.

As for how many attempts he needs to do that, Maroney deadpanned: "One. It starts with one carry, and hopefully one carry leads to three, and three carries lead to five and you can just keep going," he said.