FOXBORO - The Patriots didn’t get much going on the ground in their season opener, but there’s reason to think Week 2 could look different.
Against the Seattle Seahawks, New England spent most of the first three quarters doing enough elsewhere to keep the game within reach. The run game, though, never found traction.
Rhamondre Stevenson carried the load with 18 rushes and finished with 51 yards, while Corey Kiner, making his Patriots debut in place of the injured TreVeyon Henderson, had six carries for 11 yards. Drake Maye actually finished ahead of Kiner on the ground, running seven times for 47 yards.
Henderson’s ankle injury clearly changed the shape of the offense. With the rookie limited, the Patriots became much more one-dimensional, and there wasn’t much else behind Stevenson and Kiner. Lan Larison, elevated from the practice squad, played only three snaps and didn’t record a rush.
Even so, there’s a solid case that the rushing attack should be more productive against the Steelers. Pittsburgh brings real heat up front with T.J.
Watt and Cameron Heyward, but its run defense wasn’t airtight in Week 1. The Steelers gave up 120 rushing yards to the Atlanta Falcons, including 83 from Bijan Robinson.
The Patriots don’t have a back like Robinson, but Stevenson and Henderson do offer a style that can challenge that defensive line. And there’s at least one recent example of New England moving the ball on the ground against this opponent: last year, the Patriots ran for 119 yards on 29 carries against Pittsburgh. The bigger issue that day was the five offensive turnovers, though Maye still managed a 6.4 rushing average.
That game also came before Henderson was fully woven into the offense. He didn’t take on a larger role until Antonio Gibson’s ACL tear a few weeks later.
This week, Mike Vrabel laid out the team’s approach to the run game.
"What we believe in is trying to run as many positive plays and stay in as many more advantageous downs and distances to stay balanced," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "We're not just going to run it for the sake of running it.
We're trying to run it with a purpose and to be able to set some things up. ... We should be able to run the football."
The Patriots’ ability to run the ball won’t decide everything, and Maye’s play will still go a long way toward determining whether they win. But the ground game should have a major impact on how the game unfolds.
A lot depends on Henderson, who missed last week after rolling his ankle in an Aug. 24 practice. He returned to the field this week and was listed as a full participant on the team’s initial injury report.
Unless something changes in practice, Henderson should make his season debut against Pittsburgh. His speed gives New England a chance for a big play any time he gets the ball, and after an offense that sputtered at times last week, that would be a welcome boost. If he’s healthy and available, the Patriots should look much better running it in their home opener.
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Patriots Injury Report Could Change Everything Against Pittsburgh
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Pittsburgh has its own questions, with Michael Pittmans status uncertain and Joey Porter Jr. looking unlikely to play. For a game that could hinge on a handful of matchups and a few key absences, both sides are monitoring the final availability closely. The Patriots will get a better sense of how much flexibility they have only when the rest of the weeks practice work is done, and there is still room for the picture to shift before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]