Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots exited Week 1 with a clear goal in mind: become more balanced on the offensive side of the ball after a pass-heavy season opener. Doing so required not just the running backs to be ready for an increased workload, but the support staff as well.
That included the tight end group, which was heavily involved in the ground game on Sunday versus the Miami Dolphins by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and Jack Westover all saw notable action as run blockers, playing a respective 23, 20, and five run blocking snaps. In fact, out of the three, Henry was on the only one to see a higher share of pass plays than run plays; Hooper and Westover, meanwhile, were primarily used in the running game.
The results were solid. With extra blockers employed regularly, New England averaged 4.1 yards per carry on its 21 scripted runs versus Miami. Interestingly enough, the fullback role was not played by Westover on Sunday. Instead, Hunter Henry lined up in the backfield on six of his snaps.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 33-27 win at Hard Rock Stadium.
Total snaps: 60 | Time on the field: 32:26
QB Drake Maye* (60; 100%), LT Will Campbell* (60; 100%), LG Jared Wilson* (60; 100%), C Garrett Bradbury* (60; 100%), RG Mike Onwenu* (60; 100%), RT Morgan Moses* (60; 100%), TE Hunter Henry* (51; 85%), WR Kayshon Boutte (43; 72%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (39; 65%), WR Mack Hollins* (39; 65%), TE Austin Hooper* (37; 62%), WR Stefon Diggs* (31; 52%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (19; 32%), WR DeMario Douglas (15; 25%), RB Antonio Gibson (10; 17%), WR Kyle Williams (10; 17%), TE Jack Westover (6; 10%)
*denotes starter
The Patriots using more multi-tight end packages also had an impact on the wide receiver group: New England ran fewer three-receiver sets. DeMario Douglas fell victim to that: the third-year slot option played only 15 snaps on the day for a playing time share of 25 percent — his lowest numbers in those categories since early in his 2023 rookie campaign.
As for the running backs themselves, their splits only shifted slightly compared to Week 1. Starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson stayed at 65 percent for a second straight game, and made the most of his time on the field, registering 142 scrimmage yards. TreVeyon Henderson, on the other hand, went from a 35 percent snap share to 32 percent, with Antonio Gibson going the opposite direction and improving from 7 to 17 percent.
Total snaps: 57 | Time on the field: 25:12
CB Marcus Jones* (57; 100%), LB Robert Spillane* (56; 98%), CB Carlton Davis III* (56; 98%), S Jaylinn Hawkins* (56; 98%), S Craig Woodson* (53; 93%), ED Harold Landry III* (52; 91%), ED K’Lavon Chaisson* (47; 82%), CB Alex Austin (47; 82%), LB Christian Elliss* (42; 74%), DT Milton Williams* (39; 68%), DT Christian Barmore* (38; 67%), DT Khyiris...
