Strength. Stamina. Toughness. Execution.

The Patriots were clinging to a 20-13 lead Sunday against the Dolphins when the offense took possession at its 20-yard line with 8:28 to play.

It’s a situation, the four-minute offense, in which running the clock and putting points on the board would give the Patriots a two-score lead and put the game away.

It’s a situation in which they have been successful just five times in 18 chances since the start of the 2010 season.

They had been 0 for 6 this season with the return of offense coordinator Josh McDaniels. Failures led to losses against the Cardinals, Ravens, and Seahawks. The defense had to bail out the offense against the Broncos, Jets, and Bills (a successful drive that yielded a field goal when a touchdown would have made it a two-score lead).

This time, the result was different.

The Patriots put together a terrific 16-play, 77-yard drive that lasted 7:18 and yielded a field goal that gave them a 23-13 lead with 1:10 to play.

“That was our best drive of the day,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We needed it.”

The Patriots did it, largely because of a running game that gained 54 yards on 11 of the 14 scrimmage plays (not including Tom Brady’s final 1-yard loss to set up the field goal in the middle of the field).

Entering the fourth quarter, the Patriots had attempted to pass on 37 of their 56 plays (66.1 percent). They had gained just 55 yards on 17 carries by the running backs (3.2 yards per attempt).

That was an improvement on a first half during which Brady dropped back 77.1 percent of the time, and the running backs had 11 yards on seven carries (1.6 yards per attempt).

There were probably a few fans scratching their heads as to why the Patriots would throw so much since their running game, with Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen, has been much improved this season.

The Patriots knew the Dolphins had the league’s seventh-best run defense, and had limited Marshawn Lynch of the Seahawks to 46 yards on 19 rushes on the same field the week before in a 24-21 Dolphins victory.

So, McDaniels developed a smart game plan: throw early, use the width of the field, get the Dolphins a little tired, and then come back to the run late.

“Yeah, they’re a good run defense, they all are physical players up front,” Belichick said. “We thought we would be able to attack them, attack the width of the field a little bit at times. Ultimately, you have to balance things out, which we tried to do.”

Tried? The Patriots kicked down the Dolphins like one of Ridley’s touchdown celebrations.

The Patriots’ offensive line, after playing possum most of the game, showed it could hold its own on the final drive.

There’s no better opportunity to prove your mettle as an offensive team than with a chance to put the game out of reach late.

You know you have to run the ball.

They know you have to run the ball.

Time to man up.

And the Patriots did it with help of an old, reliable play: 34 power (though the number varies from play to play).

It’s a play the Patriots have been running for years, most successfully with Logan Mankins pulling across the formation from his left guard spot, or Stephen Neal doing it from the right side.

Neal is retired, and Mankins was out for the fifth time in six games. Right guard Dan Connolly left, again, with a back injury, so the Patriots were left to run a play, which needs flawless timing and execution, with backups at left guard (Donald Thomas) and right guard (Nick McDonald).

The power must go on.

“It’s a play we run all the time,” McDonald said.

The play starts with the running back taking a false step back or to the side in order to give the backside guard an opportunity to cross behind the center and in front of Brady as he pivots for the handoff.

“You step either way, for the timing of the play,” Vereen said.

Center Ryan Wendell pivots to the area the guard has just vacated.

“The center’s job is always to replace, to go back and cover where the guard came from,” Wendell said.

There are two crucial double-teams on the play side (where the ball will be run to).

The guard and tackle each double-down on the defensive tackle, who is usually playing the three technique on the outside shoulder of the guard. The guard tries to peel off and pick off the linebacker, while the tackle gets in front of the three technique. The two tight ends double the end.

The goal is to move the defender. Any penetration would blow the play up.