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FOXBORO — Welcome to the "new look" Patriots’ offense. It’s not exactly three yards and a cloud of dust, but that’s the general idea.

Rookie running back Laurence Maroney (17 carries, 86 yards), veteran Corey Dillon (16-73) and change-of-pace back Kevin Faulk (3-21 rushing, one TD catch of 17 yards) took charge when all else failed Sunday, helping the Patriots to bring home a 19-17 opening-day victory over the tougher-than-expected Buffalo Bills.

Expect to see a lot of these three backs for the time being. As long as Deion Branch remains absent in a contract dispute and while Tom Brady is getting to know his new receivers, the Patriots’ ground game appears to be the best way for them to move the football.

"I think we work well," Maroney said of working with Dillon, the 10th-year veteran who is just one full season removed from having gained more than 1,600 yards in a campaign. "He’ll do something and I’ll do something, and we feed off each other’s energy and both of us get the job done."

Maroney, the first-round pick out of Minnesota, was given special dispensation to speak to the media and break the rookie "probation" after his first official pro game. He said that the different styles of the two "lead" backs give the opposition a lot to think about over the course of a game. "We both run two totally different ways, so we keep the defense off balance and they don’t know who is in the game" Maroney said. "He runs one way and I run one way, and we keep fresh legs in the game while they are still out there getting tired."

That’s not lost upon the members of the Patriots’ offensive line, who enjoy moving the pile and opening holes for their new-found running attack.

"I thought the backs ran well today," center Dan Koppen said. "We were able to get hats on hats for the most part. Laurence and Corey really give us a change-up ... Corey is really downhill, and Laurence has got the shiftiness to him and the jets.

"It’s a good thing to have," he added, "but you know it’s just Week One, so we just need to keep continuing to get better."

Faulk’s touchdown catch was the culmination of a 12-play, 93-yard march that started with a big stop by Don Davis on the Bills’ Willis McGahee at the New England 7. The fact that the Patriots were able to capitalize on the big stop and produce a momentum-changing drive was not lost upon the veteran back from Louisiana State.

"(Brady) saw one-on-one coverage with me and a linebacker, and he took the chance," Faulk said of his scoring play. "Everything’s predicated on the defense ... you take what the defense gives you."

Faulk had the wind knocked out of him as he tumbled to the ground, but he had the presence of mind to hold up the ball to prove he made the catch.

"You’ve got to let the official know you have the ball first, and I tend to myself later," said Faulk, who usually would have to endure a big hit by his own quarterback in celebration of that sort of successful play.

"I wouldn’t mind getting whacked by Brady, because that means you did something good for your team. That’s a good thing," Faulk said.

In all, despite the rocky start of surrendering a defensive touchdown to Buffalo on the game’s first play, it was a satisfying effort for the Patriots’ offense — and particularly for Maroney in his introduction to the NFL. "It was a good feeling to just go out there and have fun," he said. "We have a great offensive line and great receivers who block down field. I was just running off what I see."