The New England Patriots have had some players step up during the 2022 regular season and one player is garnering national attention.
New England’s offense has had its struggles this season. The likes of Mac Jones, Damien Harris, DeVante Parker, and Tyquan Thornton have all dealt with injuries. With important players missing time, the Patriots needed other players to produce.
When it comes to the running game, Rhamondre Stevenson has been the star for New England. He has tallied 558 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground along with 32 receptions for 217 yards per Pro Football Reference.
With how well he has played, Stevenson has been named a “dark horse” to win the Offensive Player of the Year award. NFL analyst Alex Ballentine explained his reasoning for selecting Stevenson.
“The second-year back was stuck in a timeshare with Damien Harris in the first four weeks of the season,” wrote Ballentine. “He played in 62 percent or fewer of the snaps in every game as the Patriots got off to a 1-3 start. Since then, he’s played at least 77 percent of the snaps, is now seventh in total scrimmage yards and the Patriots have won three out of their last four games. His ability to break off big runs even when the blocking in front of him is suboptimal is one of the few things the Patriots offense has going for it right now. He was responsible for 143 of the unit’s 288 yards against the Jets in Week 8.
“Offensive Player of the Year typically goes to a player who carries his offense. Stevenson is quickly becoming that player for New England,” he concluded.
Who Is the Last Patriot to Win This Award?
It has been quite some time since a New England player won the award. Tom Brady was the last Patriot to win the award in 2010.
Brady is actually the only member of the Patriots organization to have won the award in New England. Larry Brown of the now Washington Commanders won the first Offensive Player of the Year award in 1972.
What Milestone Did Bill Belichick Reach in Week 8?
With the win over the New York Jets, Belichick claimed sole possession second place in all-time NFL wins by a head coach. After passing George Halas, Belichick is now only behind Don Shula who has 12 more wins than Belichick currently.
Belichick was more concerned about the games ahead when asked about the milestone but took the time to thank some former players.
“I’ll be able to talk about that when it’s over,” he said. “We’ll add them up at the end. It’s good to come down here and win. I’m happy for our team and appreciate all the great players we’ve had who’ve won those games. We had a couple of them in the locker room besides our players. Guys like (Devin) McCourty and (Matthew) Slater, (Jerrod) Mayo, Troy Brown. Those guys won a lot of games for us, for me, so those are team wins.”
Patriots quarterback also opened his press conference with praise for his head coach.
“Just wanted to give a huge congratulations to (Head) Coach (Bill) Belichick,” Jones said. “What an accomplishment, obviously he’s done a great job here, and it’s just a blessing to be able to play for him. We don’t do the whole individual awards, but that’s a big one and just to be his quarterback right now is a huge blessing.”
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