For those worried that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick had opened up a spare bedroom in his doghouse for Rhamondre Stevenson, you can breathe a sigh of relief.
Belichick isn’t second-guessing the second-year running back for the game-ending turnover that cost the Patriots a win at home against the Cincinnati Bengals on Christmas Eve.
“I’m not going to second-guess Rhamondre on what he did,” Belichick said during an appearance on The Greg Hill Show, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Rhamondre’s ball security has been pretty good all year. He had two hands on the ball, they were running him back, and they knocked it out at the end.
“…Rhamondre is a really good competitor. He’s one of our best players. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go.”
Stevenson had the ball knocked out when trying to grind out extra yards in the red zone during a possible game-winning touchdown drive for the Patriots.
However, an argument could be made that forward progression had been stopped, and the play should have been ruled dead, which seems to be the direction Belichick is leaning.
A week before the fumble against the Bengals, Stevenson was the player that initiated the lateral sequence that led to wideout Jakobi Meyers throwing the game-ending turnover that lost the game against the Las Vegas Raiders. There’s no doubt that Stevenson has to improve in situational football, particularly late in games, but it’s also a fact that he’s one of the team’s most dynamic playmakers.
The Patriots will need more from him with the postseason hanging in the balance.
