TreVeyon Henderson makes big-time touchdown more memorable with one move

There was a lot on the line for the New England Patriots during their Week 10 win, the most notable of which was shutting down the notion that they're a team that has gotten lucky from an easy schedule and shouldn't be considered legitimate contenders. They shut that down with a victory over the Bucs on the road, and two rookies put on a show to help accomplish that.

One of those players was running back TreVeyon Henderson, a surprising second-round pick by the new regime earlier this year, who has finally been given the starting role with Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined with an injury.

Henderson was on fire against a very dominant defensive front, but it took a bit to get there. The Patriots struggled to establish the run until late in the game, yet Henderson scored two big-time touchdowns that had fans rewatching the replays on repeat.

The second score, in particular, might be more memorable, however, because of one thing Henderson did before running into the end zone. It was a funny move and yet, at the same time, showed his football intelligence to a degree we haven't seen before.

TreVeyon Henderson showed up against the Bucs in Week 10 and might have solidified his starting role for the rest of the season

While hitting speeds of over 20 mph on both of his impressive touchdown runs, Henderson's second score, which went for 69 yards, was made memorable for one reason: he slowed down near the end zone and looked to the Patriots' sideline to check if it was okay for him to score.

Because they were only up five points and there was less than two minutes left in the game, it was wise of the rookie to make sure it was the right thing to do, since that meant they'd be giving Baker Mayfield the ball back with plenty of time left to score.

The Bucs did go and score on their next drive, but their attempt to successfully onside kick after didn't work, and that sealed the Patriots win.

But it was Henderson's well-timed touchdown that ensured it could happen, and his football IQ, showing through, proved Mike Vrabel is making a big impact on this roster, as he wants to build a smart football team.

This was just the latest example of that, and certainly provides even more optimism for the rest of the season. Now that the Patriots are atop the division and near the top of the conference, there will be even more times when they'll need to be smart with what they're doing during the game, and it looks like they're well on their way to making sure they won't fail in that regard.