Pats Pulpit
Had the New England Patriots gotten just one extra stop in the second half against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, TreVeyon Henderson’s performance would have been one of the biggest stories coming out of that game. The rookie running back had a spectacular, AFC Offensive Player of the Day-worth game.
Unfortunately, the Patriots ended up losing 35-31 and the post-game discussion centered around the Patriots letting a 21-0 lead slip out of their hands. Henderson, meanwhile, has been relegated to a footnote.
He shouldn’t be.
Leading the Patriots with 161 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns, he played a pivotal role in putting New England in a competitive position to begin with.
“I think the biggest thing is over time being able to get more opportunities and go up against the best of the best each and every week,” Henderson said after his career-best performance. “It’s been helping a lot, just growth. We have a great running backs coach as well who disciplines us really well, and he’s been helping me grow as well. I just want to leave it all on the field.”
Coached by Tony Dews, who joined the Patriots alongside Mike Vrabel this offseason, Henderson arrived as a second-round draft pick back in April. While he started off rather slowly, he flipped the page after Week 8.
Over the seven-game span up to that point, Henderson averaged a 21.6 snaps as well as 8.4 touches for 28.1 yards and 0.1 touchdowns. In the seven games since, his numbers have skyrocketed to 39.7 snaps, 16.9 touches, 104.7 yards and 1.0 touchdowns.
Lead back Rhamondre Stevenson missing time with a toe injury over the second half of the season thus far contributed to Henderson’s emergence, but the 23-year-old has also not looked back since. Against Buffalo his abilities were on full display when he scored touchdowns of 52 and 65 yards.
“It’s game-changing,” said tight end Hunter Henry. “You guys see it. Speed kills and you can’t really teach it. So, a guy like that, if we can get him through to the second level, it’s huge.”
On the season, Henderson has now scored four rushing touchdowns of 50-plus yards. Only two other rookies in NFL history have accomplished that feat, Lenny Moore in 1956 and Saquon Barkley in 2018.
The latest of those scores was aided by an unusual cavalry. After Henderson reversed course to head into the open field on his 65-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, quarterback Drake Maye served as a lead blocker of sorts and — more through presence rather than physicality — managed to keep his young teammate out of trouble.
“Just get him in space,” Maye said during his postgame press conference. “He’s tough to tackle. He’s got good vision. He’s fast. He can make one cut and he’s gone. And he probably would have outran them if I wasn’t down there. So, he’s a great player for us. And we’ve just got to continue to make more plays to come out with...
