The excitement about the Patriots' offense this season was especially felt when Mike Vrabel and Co. surprisingly selected Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of this year's draft. The position was not considered among the most pressing to address in the early rounds, but Henderson's explosive abilities made too much sense for them to pass on him once they were on the clock.
Throughout the summer, he lived up to the hype and became a sneaky favorite to potentially become the best rookie at the position in the league, so the expectation was that he would be a significant part of the offensive game planning this fall.
That seemed even more predicted after the rough season Rhamondre Stevenson had last year, recording more fumbles than touchdowns and reverting to the issues shown during his rookie season in 2021. Henderson's performance during training camp and the preseason made it seem possible that the rookie could leapfrog him on the depth chart.
However, that hasn't been the case thus far, and instead, the run game was essentially nonexistent against the Raiders on Sunday, and Stevenson's performance was particularly concerning and presumably puts him on shaky ground moving forward.
Rhamondre Stevenson doesn't look like the player he once was for the Patriots in their season opener
Beyond the initial questionable performance from the backfield, who recorded 13 carries for 45 yards total between the three of them (including Antonio Gibson), the most troublesome part was Stevenson's part in it all. He totaled seven carries for fifteen yards, averaging just 2.1 yards per carry.
The offensive line didn't do them many favors, but with so many questions facing Stevenson, there were higher expectations for him going into this game, especially if he was going to remain the starter.
Making the entire situation worse was Josh McDaniels' decision to move away from the run game altogether in the second half. Only two rush plays were called after halftime, so the offense completely abandoned any ground work for Maye to rely on.
HC Vrabel on Patriots' areas of improvement for Week 2:
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) September 8, 2025
"The bottom line is we have to run the ball better and more efficiently."
TreVeyon Henderson: 5 carries, 27 yards
Rhamondre Stevenson: 7 carries, 15 yards
While it might have made sense given the struggles of the offensive line to open up lanes for them, it exposed the inefficiencies of the offense in totality, while also showing just how much potential they gave up on with Henderson.
He could have been the juice to fuel a comeback in the second half, and might have been the reason they might have had a fighting chance instead of keeping him sidelined for nearly the rest of the game.
It also showed little confidence in Stevenson, as he was barely contributing through the last two quarters, and you can only assume he's got to be better in the weeks coming up, or there's a good chance Henderson does jump above him on game day.
With a player like him on the roster and what we saw from him this summer, it should be a crime to keep him on the bench instead of heavily involved in the game plan. Perhaps it was just what McDaniels thought was best, given how the Raiders were playing, but you don't draft a player like Henderson to keep him from contributing on game day.