Both the Patriots and the New York Jets entered the Week 3 with a 1-1 record. The Pats offense has struggled to get going this season despite HC Jerod Mayo’s push for rush-heavy offense. But Rhamondre Stevenson has been a slight exception with his 201 rushing yards and two touchdowns. However, in the game against the Jets Stevenson went a bit overboard, and not only did he get penalized on his best run of the game but was also injured.

Coming into the game much of the spotlight was on Aaron Rodgers starting his first game at the MetLife Stadium since rupturing his Achilles after just four plays in the opening game of last season. For the Pats, it was about keeping up their recent domination in the fixture but it turned out to be a miserable night for Stevenson and his team.

It was the second quarter when Stevenson had the ball and went on a 16-yard run. He was being chased by Jets’ Mark Scheifele and guess what he chose to do? Well, he stiff-armed the defender and his pinky finger got caught in his opponent’s helmet. He was flagged for a facemask and appeared to injure his finger.

Per Alex Barth of NBC Boston, “Rhamondre Stevenson on the sideline after that last run. Got his hand tangled up in a facemask.” As a result, the fourth-year pro missed the rest of the quarter but eventually returned in the second half and got another carry upon his return.

Before leaving for the sidelines, the Patriots running back amassed 20 yards on four carries. However, after his return to the field, he fumbled on the first play of the drive in the fourth quarter and it led to a Jets goal. It is possible that his finger injury earlier might have played a role.

The New England Patriots struggled throughout the game with their offense and didn’t score till the second quarter. When they got around to scoring, it was a 44-yard field goal from Joey Slye. But the night belonged to the Jets and Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns as the Jets trounced the Patriots 24-3. The Jets had 27 first downs to the Patriots’ 11 as they hardly gave them breathing space. They gained 400 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per play while controlling the ball for over 40 minutes of the game. Talk about domination.

On the other hand, the Pats gained only 139 yards and averaged 2.9 per play. Towards the end of the game, the Pats decided to give Drake Maye a chance and he got to make his much-anticipated NFL debut. However, both he and starter Jacoby Brissett struggled in the limited Patriots offense line. Maye was sacked twice while Brissett was sacked five times in the game.

What will hurt the Pats fans more will be the fact that their defense 14 tackles in what was an uncharacteristically sloppy effort. The Pats’ defense has been one of the most consistent tackling units in the league for quite some time now but they failed to turn up on Thursday Night.

The injury concerns for the Pats were not limited to Stevenson. CB Alex Austin (ankle), LG Michael Jordan (knee), and rookie LT Caedan Wallace (knee) all left in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, Stevenson was able to return to play and it is good news for the Pats, especially after he suffered a high ankle sprain last season on a hip-drop tackle in a Week 13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The injury kept him sidelined for the rest of the year and brought a premature end to his season.

But let’s come back to Rhamondre Stevenson’s performance tonight, he came out with a total of 6 carries over 23 yards and no touchdowns. However,  there are other underlying performance issues with Stevenson that you might want to know about.

The problem with Rhamondre Stevenson

Let’s not beat around the bush and accept the fact that this was his worst performance of the 2024 regular season so far. He fumbled the ball in all 3 games he’s played so far. This is the worse season he’s having in terms of fumbles because he never recorded more than 2 fumbles in a season.

While he’s a reliable weapon for Jacoby Brissett, Stevenson’s faltering will lead to a loss of potential scoring drives down the line. The problem with the fumble against the Jets was that the Pats couldn’t recover the football. In the other two games, they were able to get back.

He’s in the last year of his rookie deal so being 4 seasons into the league, a fumble in each game is unbecoming of an experienced player. The 1-2 down Pats now face a daunting trip to the Arrowhead stadium to face KC Chiefs on September 29 and Stevenson and his team will have to buckle up.