Rhamondre Stevenson scored twice in the Patriots’ upset win over the Buffalo Bills, but his fumbling woes continued.
After the Bills fumbled away the ball, New England gave it right back when Shaq Thompson punched the ball out of Stevenson’s hands as Buffalo recovered on its own 38.
Coach Mike Vrabel continued to use Stevenson — though he was in a bit of a mind after Antonio Gibson suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and TreVeyon Henderson has struggled in pass protection thus far in his rookie season.
Despite the continued fumbles, why does Vrabel continue to instill trust in Stevenson?
“He’s valuable in protection,” the coach said on WEEI on Monday morning. “And when teams start blitzing and heating us up, it’s critical that somebody protects the quarterback and taking those short yardage instances and around the goal line. And we mix carries up. So everybody’s going to have a role and we’ll have to continue to take care of the ball.”
While Stevenson provides value when it comes to protection, Vrabel knows they need to figure out the fumbling issues.
“We’ve got to start putting that fire out and making sure that, until we’re back in the huddle, that ball remains in our possession,” Vrabel said.
After Sunday’s win, Stevenson said it helped his confidence that Vrabel stuck with him, but knows he needs to be better going forward.
“I’m going to tighten it up, and go to work every week, just trying to get better, just trying to clean it up,” he said. “My teammates and Coach Vrabes and coach (Josh) McDaniels, all of them behind me means the world. So I have to follow up and do my part.”
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