Rhamondre Stevenson sets a new career record with touchdown vs Commanders

The Patriots headed into their Week 9 matchup against the Commanders, hoping to add another win. It wouldn't be an easy day, despite the significant trades Washington made to ship off two of their best defensive players.

The loss of Kendrick Bourne and the absence of DeVante Parker would inevitably take a toll on the offense, and that's exactly how the game began as the Patriots fell behind early with a Commanders 10-0 lead.

It felt all too familiar for this Patriots team, who have had nearly every game start the same way, and we know playing from behind early is never the desired start. Fortunately, the defense was able to bail the offense out again this season, as Davon Godchaux recovered a fumble on Washington's 25-yard line, an ample opportunity for the offense to get some points on the board.

Mac Jones completed a great pass to Hunter Henry in the end zone for the first points of the game, followed by another solid drive by the defense to give the quarterback another chance to add more points to the board.

It began with an excellent 20-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is needed to have standout games now as one of the few remaining veteran receivers able to play the rest of the season. That was followed by a 64-yard run for the score by Stevenson, setting a career-high rushing touchdown to put the Patriots up 14-10.

The drive was well put together, and it was a reminder of the type of player that Stevenson is and can be, something we haven't been fortunate enough to do much this season.

Much of that is due to the inconsistency of the offensive line, which was the main factor in allowing Stevenson's run to happen. Great blocking by David Andrews and Sidy Sow opened a big hole on the field, allowing the running back to break through and run it for a touchdown.

If they can manage to continue that this season, we will see a lot more success from the offense in its entirety, including quarterback play from Jones.

On top of breaking a personal record, Stevenson also accomplished the longest touchdown run by the Patriots since Damien Harris's 64-yard score against the Bills in December 2021, which is significant in more ways than one.

It would be nice to see more positive run play overall, but especially by Stevenson, who is hoping for a new contract soon. We know what he's capable of and how much he can benefit this offense, and it was good to see that displayed again this week.

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