It's really simple. If the New England Patriots are going to have any sort of success this season, they need to be able to run the football and establish the line of scrimmage. They certainly didn't do that in averaging just over three yards per carry in a 20-13 loss to Las Vegas on Sunday, in which Drake Maye had to throw 46 passes.
Rookie TreVeyon Henderson, who showed his explosiveness throughout the preseason, only carried the ball five times for 27 yards. While it's too early to push the panic button one week into the season, that can't happen.
You don't take a running back in the second round and just don't use him. Rhamondre Stevenson, who you could argue is only still a Patriot because of his expensive contract, saw twice as many snaps as Henderson and got stuffed on multiple short-yardage situations.
If this continues going forward, it could be a long season for Mike Vrabel and company, and too much pressure could be on New England's young quarterback.
Memo to Josh McDaniels: Give TreVeyon Henderson more touches
The Patriots' offensive coordinator has had a penchant for getting the ball to his running backs in the passing game over the course of his career. That's a significant reason why Henderson was drafted: to provide the New England offense with a needed jolt in the running game.
Mike Vrabel on the #Patriots lack of success in the run game on Sunday (60 yards, 3.3 YPC):
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) September 8, 2025
“To have a successful offensive play it takes everybody …
The bottom line is we have to run the ball better and run the ball more efficiently.” pic.twitter.com/sWa54W5T0b
Vrabel was adamant in his Monday media session that it takes a village to have a successful running game, and Stevenson and Antonio Gibson were equally as absent as Henderson was on Sunday. The Patriots learned that Henderson needs to have more touches, in the form of a home loss against a middle-of-the-road Las Vegas team that many expected them to beat.
Henderson needs to be a gigantic factor in Week 2 for the Patriots as they face a Miami team that was carved, sliced, and diced by Daniel Jones and the Colts in their own season-opening loss. The Patriots' rookie is too talented and much of the offense too flawed for Henderson to spend more time on a milk carton than handling the ball.
By no means am I saying that Henderson needs to carry the ball 25 to 30 times and carry much of the load, but he needs to be running through the Dolphins' defense on Sunday if the Patriots are going to get out of South Florida with a win.