Even with the return of Rhamondre Stevenson, rookie TreVeyon Henderson still got the bulk of the snaps in the Patriots backfield, and led the team with 18 carries for 66 yards rushing in Sunday's victory at Cincinnati.
Even with the return of Rhamondre Stevenson, rookie TreVeyon Henderson still got the bulk of the snaps in the Patriots backfield, and led the team with 18 carries for 66 yards rushing in Sunday's victory at Cincinnati.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
FOXBOROUGH — Breaking down the snap counts from Patriots-Bengals, New England’s ninth straight win …
1. Even with Rhamondre Stevenson available, rookie TreVeyon Henderson remained the team’s lead option at running back.
Henderson out-snapped Stevenson, 46-22. He finished with 18 carries for 66 yards, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. After a slow start to his rookie season, Henderson looks more comfortable in all aspects of the position — flashing his burst and speed while improving in pass protection.
Before suffering a toe injury in Week 8, Stevenson had out-snapped Henderson in seven of eight games. The lone exception was Week 3 because Stevenson fumbled twice.
Now, however, their roles have switched.
After missing three games, Stevenson took a clear backseat to Henderson. He logged his first touch of the game in the second quarter on a short pass from quarterback Drake Maye. He finished the game with 6 carries for just 5 yards, getting stuffed at the goal line on back-to-back plays in the third quarter.
Perhaps Stevenson is still dealing with lingering effects of his toe injury, but it sure looks as though the Patriots are moving forward with Henderson as their workhorse out of the backfield.
Terrell Jennings, who experienced an uptick in snaps with Stevenson out, played just three snaps. For his lone carry of the game, he was stuffed at the goal-line as part of that ugly third-quarter sequence.
2. Right guard Michael Onwenu and center Garrett Bradbury were the only offensive linemen to play 100 percent of the snaps on Sunday.
Left tackle Will Campbell (knee) and left guard Jared Wilson (ankle) exited the game with injuries and did not return, while right tackle Morgan Moses briefly visited the locker room in the second quarter because of what the team called an illness.
Moses missed seven snaps before returning to the field. He declined interview requests in the locker room after the game, so it’s unclear what exactly sidelined him.
The stability across the offensive line had been such a strength for the Patriots this season. The top unit of Campbell, Wilson, Bradbury, Onwenu, and Moses had started 11 of 12 games. Now, the group’s depth will certainly be tested.
Vederian Lowe, who played a season-high 30 snaps, filled in for Campbell on Sunday, but coach Mike Vrabel wouldn’t say definitively if Lowe would start on Monday against the Giants. Rookie Marcus Bryant, who filled in on the right side when Moses went out, is also an option.
Patriots defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga gets checked out by the medical staff after suffering a chest injury in the second quarter Sunday.
Patriots defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga gets checked out by the medical staff after suffering a chest injury in the second quarter Sunday.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
3. Nose tackle Khyiris Tonga played a season-low 12 snaps, as he suffered a chest injury midway through the second quarter. Tonga fought to return, and tried to play through it, before Vrabel decided it would be best to keep him on the sidelines.
“Tonga’s never going to let anybody down as long as he’s here,” Vrabel said. “These guys want to go. I have to look at them and I’ve got to figure out if they can protect themselves, if they can do their job and not make it any worse. He clearly, from what I saw, wasn’t going to be able to do most of those things.”
Tonga didn’t take any offensive snaps on Sunday, after playing at least one snap as a jumbo tight end or fullback in the prior three games. The Patriots probably could have used him during their goal-line sequence in the third quarter, when they couldn’t punch the ball over despite six plays from Cincinnati’s 1-yard line.
4. After missing the last two games with a hamstring injury, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte made his return to the field. He logged his usual workload, with 57 snaps (or 80.3 percent of the offense’s total), catching two passes for 15 yards.
Rookie Kyle Williams, who had experienced a larger workload in Boutte’s absence, played a season-low five snaps. As long as Boutte is healthy, Williams will have a small role in the offense. Boutte, Mack Hollins, and Stefon Diggs are clearly the team’s top trio at receiver.
Bengals running back Chase Brown bursts through the Patriots line, something he did quite well on Sunday.
Bengals running back Chase Brown bursts through the Patriots line, something he did quite well on Sunday.Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press
5. In their first game without defensive tackle Milton Williams, the Patriots turned to a collective effort to account for his absence.
Christian Barmore tied his season-high with 47 snaps, while Cory Durden (36) and Eric Gregory (18) also recorded season-highs. Jeremiah Pharms Jr., temporarily elevated to the active roster from the practice squad, made his season debut and played 20 snaps.
The Patriots struggled to stop the run without Williams, allowing Chase Brown to rush for 107 yards on 19 carries (5.6 yards per carry).
“You’ve just got to build a wall, set edges, and not let easy yardage off the edge on the first play,” Vrabel said. “It’s about building a wall, setting the edge, and swarm tackling. They pushed a couple piles on us. They had a couple runs in there. Just have to make sure that we’re not giving them the easy ones, and we’re making them earn everything that they get.”
Williams isn’t eligible to return until Week 17 against the Jets, so the Patriots are going to have to make some corrections before facing James Cook and the Bills in Week 15 and Derrick Henry and the Ravens in Week 16.
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com. Follow her on X @nicolecyang.