Bill Belichick's words come back to haunt Rhamondre Stevenson after another turnover
The Patriots offense is already dealing with shortcomings in their Week 4 matchup against the 49ers, as starting center David Andrews left in the first quarter with a reported shoulder injury. It's a blow to their already depleted offensive line, like starting their fourth left tackle through four games, far from an ideal situation.
To make matters worse, Rhamondre Stevenson, the lone producer for the offense, lost another fumble near the red zone, making it his fourth fumble of the season.
Fortunately, the defense was able to keep them out of the end zone and force a field goal instead, but that doesn't negate the running back's butter fingers to start the year, a problem he dealt with during his rookie season. It led to him being placed in Bill Belichick's doghouse and the run game going through Damien Harris again, which might also be the case in today's game, but Antonio Gibson instead.
Gibson was in for the Patriots' next offensive drive, which might dictate Stevenson's future for the rest of the game, especially when you consider infamous words of Belichick from year's past.
Rhamondre Stevenson's fumbling problem puts Patriots offense in a pickle again
There are plenty of memorable quotes from Belichick during his two decades in Foxboro, one of which was in reference to the run game.
Who could forget, "Ball security is job security"?
It's also something Jerod Mayo said in the days leading up to this game, which makes it all the more interesting.
Because so much of this year's offense relies on the success of the run game, it's disappointing to see Stevenson dealing with a turnover problem yet again.
Hopefully, that won't be a pattern he continues to follow as the season continues, or the Patriots are going to have another devastating issue on offense to deal with that they likely won't be able to overcome.