Pats Pulpit
Rhamondre Stevenson closed out the regular season with seven carries and two catches last Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
And with recognition from the NFL.
The New England Patriots running back has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against the Miami Dolphins.
Stevenson, 27, amassed a season-high 153 offensive yards and a career-high three touchdowns during what became a 38-10 win for the AFC East champions. By ground, No. 38 broke off 131 rushing yards and a pair of visits to the end zone. By air, he added 22 receiving yards and another score on a sluggo route.
Longs of 56 and 35 yards were among them for Stevenson. The starting back would be the lone player around the league to log three touchdowns from scrimmage in Week 18. He finished with 104 rushing yards over expectation, per Next Gen Stats, and was charted by Pro Football Focus for forcing four missed tackles on his handoffs.
“Always excited for our players,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said during his Wednesday press conference. “I sound like a broken record, but I think he continued to do the things that we needed him to do to help us win. And in turn, he was rewarded for it with touchdowns, with rushing yards, with a big catch there. But also, he protected the quarterback. I’m excited and happy for him.”
It marks the first weekly honor for the No. 120 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. A former transfer from Cerritos College to the University of Oklahoma, Stevenson checks in as the first Sooners product to win AFC or NFC Offensive Player of the Week this campaign. He joins nine-time winner Adrian Peterson and four-time winner Joe Mixon in the school’s archives at running back.
Between all three phases, Stevenson is also the sixth different member of the Patriots to get such a call this season.
The conference’s No. 2 seed was previously represented by kickoff returner Antonio Gibson in Week 2, punt returner Marcus Jones in Week 4, outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson in Week 7, kicker Andy Borregales in Week 12 and quarterback Drake Maye in Week 13.
The Los Angeles Chargers visit Foxborough on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
