New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson once again found himself in the middle of a costly play that contributed to a defeat.
The Patriots were in the midst of a comeback from down 22-0 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. They had made it a 4-point game with a minute to go and the ball at the Bengals’ 5-yard line. Stevenson got a handoff and tried to fight for extra yardage, but fumbled while doing so. The Bengals recovered, essentially ending the game.
Chaos in NE! The @Bengals recover the football in the redzone with less than a minute left to play 😯
📺: #CINvsNE on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/12iaSiXlzp pic.twitter.com/tQO9tkgSSx— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2022
Stevenson admitted after the game that he should have simply gone down, and was trying to do too much by fighting for the extra yardage.
Rhamondre Stevenson on his fumble: “I got the ball, I was trying to make something happen, and I was probably trying to do more than I should.”
Asked if he thought his forward momentum was stopped: “It doesn’t matter what I think”
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) December 24, 2022
Some argued that Stevenson should have been ruled down by forward progress before the fumble, but Stevenson was not making that excuse.
This is the second consecutive week that a Patriots player made a bad mistake while trying to do too much. The team seems to be pressing a bit, as Saturday’s loss dropped them to 7-8 and may have delivered a fatal blow to their playoff hopes.
Stevenson was limited to 30 yards on 13 carries in the loss. He has had a good season overall, but high-profile mistakes keep happening to him.
