New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots suffered a 21-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, due in large part to the fact that the team committed five turnovers throughout the game. As a result, that could lead to a bigger role for rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson in Week 4.
With Rhamondre Stevenson losing two fumbles and Antonio Gibson losing one himself, the Patriots turned to Henderson as their top running back in the second half of their clash with the Steelers, as he was seemingly the only player at this spot who could hold onto the football.
Fumbling the football has been a recurring issue for both Stevenson and Gibson, and after the team’s turnover issues directly led to their loss to the Steelers, some sort of punishment is expected for New England’s top two running backs.
The most widely expected solution would be to make Henderson the team’s starting running back in Week 4. Sure enough, at the team’s practice on Wednesday, Henderson was the first running back to go through drills, with Gibson then Stevenson following behind him.
Typically, the player who goes first through drills is the team’s top option, so this would seem to indicate that Henderson is tracking towards starting for New England on Sunday. Of course, this is just speculation for the time being, but it is still a telling sign.
While Henderson could start, it seems likely that Stevenson and Gibson will still play a role on offense for the Pats in Week 4. Regardless of who is in the backfield, the team will be looking to protect the football better when they take the field against the Carolina Panthers.
