The New England Patriots struggled to run the football effectively in Sunday's 21-14 Week 3 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson should be the full-time starter moving forward. He's displayed the best ball security among their backfield options.
Henderson rushed for 28 yards via a team-high 11 carries. A stout Steelers defense held the first-year playmaker to 2.5 yards per carry. The issue is that Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson combined to match Henderson's 11 carries.
Gibson rushed seven times for 28 yards, averaging 4.0 yards per carry. Gibson lost a critical fumble. Before that turnover, Stevenson lost two fumbles on just seven total offensive touches. Fumbles have been a recurring issue for Stevenson, who led all non-quarterbacks in cough-ups (7) last season.
#Steelers HC Mike Tomlin says Pittsburgh was on the lookout for #Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson's fumbles:
— New England Sports Fellow (@NESportsFellow) September 22, 2025
"It was, but it is every week. We identify opportunities, and certainly, he had some fumble issues last year. And so, it was an agenda of ours."
(🎥: @steelers) pic.twitter.com/6A5ylUiS57
Starting quarterback Drake Maye also lost a fumble. The Patriots committed five total turnovers in a seven-point loss. The turnover battle clearly made the difference.
Head coach Mike Vrabel values ball security. Henderson had zero fumbles lost throughout his entire college career at Ohio State, a remarkable feat over 667 touches. With both Stevenson and Gibson struggling to protect the football, Henderson needs to be the primary ball carrier.
Henderson played just 46% of offensive snaps in Week 3. Stevenson played a nearby 36%, and Gibson made up the final 26%. That workload should be skewed more heavily in Henderson's favor against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.
In this tackling/ball-carrier drill at Wednesday’s practice, rookie TreVeyon Henderson is the first RB to rep, followed by Antonio Gibson, then Rhamondre Stevenson. pic.twitter.com/kGYtIg1rK6
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 24, 2025
Henderson ranks second in carries among Patriots running backs. Stevenson leads the offense with 22 carries for 87 yards. Even the dual-threat Maye has out-carried Henderson 21-19. Gibson has chipped in with 13 attempts.
There are some things Henderson could improve on his end to ensure the backfield gets tipped in his favor. Stevenson leads the Patriots in yards after contact (86), with Henderson (34) and Gibson (31) trailing him by a considerable margin, per Pro Football Focus. Forcing missed tackles is another area.
Henderson ranks last among Patriots ball-carriers in yards after contact per attempt (1.79), with Stevenson posting an impressive 3.91. Stevenson has forced seven missed tackles compared to Henderson's two. The former Ohio State standout has had just one explosive gain (10-plus yards).
Henderson's -32 rushing yards over expected (RYOE) tied for dead-last among running backs who had 10-plus carries across Week 3, according to Next Gen Stats. His 2.5 yards per carry tied for fifth-last. Henderson's rush yards over expected per attempt of -3.2 were the worst.
The Patriots currently rank 19th in rushing. They're averaging 100.3 rushing yards per game. With a sophomore quarterback under center and a lack of high-end weapons at receiver, Vrabel would certainly like to see that metric improve in the coming contests.
Henderson can certainly improve his individual rushing outputs. But coaches value ball security above everything, and both Stevenson and Gibson combined to make three inexcusable mistakes in a tight-knit defeat. The Patriots are trending toward making Henderson their primary ball-carrier versus the Panthers in Week 4.
