Injured Patriots starter forces offense to change plans early vs. Bucs

Over the past two weeks, the New England Patriots' offense has had to deal with the absence of starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who finally began to put a solid season together after a rough patch dominated by fumbles to start the year. Because he's great out of the backfield and in the passing game, it's a significant loss, but it seemed like they had the right guy in place to make up the void.

That, of course, was rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson. But the Patriots have been reluctant to use him as much as most believed they would, given that he was a second-round draft pick earlier this year.

Questions began to arise about the reasoning behind keeping him uninvolved in the game plan as much as they had been, but the coaching staff had clarified nothing. Those questions became a prominent part of Sunday's game this week, as Terrell Jennings was taking the most snaps to start the game, only to go down in the second quarter with a knee injury.

That means Josh McDaniels will be forced to use Henderson far more the rest of the way, and the running back already proved that would be a solid plan after his first carry helped them gain a first down.

Terrell Jennings' injury creates a big opportunity for the Patriots' offense to use TreVeyon Henderson more than they have

After a standout performance against the Falcons last week, where he recorded 14 carries for 55 yards, the assumption was that the Patriots would continue to build upon that with Henderson, with Stevenson still sidelined, while using Jennings as an RB2 option.

That's not how the game started, however, and it took until almost the end of the first quarter for Henderson to get his first carry, which was a nice move for 16 yards and a first down.

That is the kind of production they'll need to take advantage of the rest of the way, now that Jennings might be out for the remainder of the game. Henderson has proven he can be exactly what they need from the backfield when given the chance, so they'll need to take advantage of that in a close matchup with the Bucs.

This is a game that could determine their fate for the rest of the season and keep the MVP campaign for Drake Maye alive. Not to mention, it would end the narrative that the Patriots are only good because they had an "easy schedule" and prove that they're the real deal.

Henderson's success can help achieve that.