The sorry state of the Patriots run game has become indefensible.
New England’s ground game hit a new low in an overtime loss against the Tennessee Titans’ admittedly stout defense, but one would have thought they played the ’85 Bears by reading the rushing stat lines. Bell cow back Rhamondre Stevenson finished the day with just 16 rushing yards on ten carries, and averaged only 1.6 yards per carry.
Week 9 marked the third straight game in which Stevenson has averaged fewer than 2.7 yards per carry, and it’s getting worse by the game. Fellow back Antonio Gibson hasn’t help the cause, adding little since the Patriots hosted Seattle in Week 2.
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye provides the only real production on the ground. He doesn’t do that through designed runs, but rather by seizing chances to escape vertically through the pocket. Maye’s ability to move the chains with his legs is impressive, but instinctual. It’s hard to give offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt credit for that.
Maye’s rushing yards buoy the Patriots from the bottom of the league in league rankings, and will continue to do so with his 95 yards posted against the Titans. His production can’t disguise where the team ranks second in rushing: fumbles. Stevenson accepted the blame for his multiple gaffes earlier in the season when he rode the bench to start Week 5 against the Dolphins. He responded with an electrifying 33-yard touchdown run. That was a chunk play that’s become increasingly rare. He’s remained a scoring threat for New England through his red zone production, but outside of an ironic block for Maye in overtime, that’s it.
The crumbling ground game is particularly disappointing because it drags so many parts of the Patriots organization in question. The team entered the season extolled by Mayo and Van Pelt as a hard-running group that would win in the trenches.
“We are going to run the ball,” Mayo said in a late-July appearance on “Up & Adams” with Kay Adams. “We're going to have plays off running the ball, but I think with our backs and our offensive line getting better every day, I think we're going to have a chance to really go out there and control the game with the run game, and then throw the ball down the field based on that.”
What did they see from this roster to puff up their chests out like that during the summer? Stevenson is a serviceable, big-bodied back, but he’s only broken 1,000 yards in a season once, in 2022. The front office and the coaching staff had to know they’d have offensive line challenges throughout the season, especially taking their situation at tackle into account.
And remember, the best aspect of the running game - Maye’s legs - weren’t part of the plan back then. He was riding the pine and learning on his tablet.
The evaporation of the run game means Maye has to shoulder almost the totality of the offense’s production. The sticks move when he does, or if he uncorks it. Opposing defenses get off easy without having to stay on the field and chase down another big runner. It’s a deeply unfair position for a rookie quarterback, especially one who only played 30 games in college and lined up shotgun. Every week now, he has to throw the ball and run the ball.
Gisele Bundchen would be aghast at the responsibility.
New England is lucky to have found a dual quarterback with a cool head in Maye. His last-second touchdown pass to Stevenson was the type of clutch moment the Patriots waited for three seasons to see from his predecessor, Mac Jones. According to ESPN Next Gen Stats, Maye scrambled for nearly 12 seconds before he found Stevenson on the play.
He will turn the ball over and make mistakes, but his confidence looks unshakable. It’s an invaluable quality that can’t be taught.
But without a run threat outside of himself, they’re asking him to do too much. The Patriots have to resurrect the aspect of the football game they thought they’d do best.