Week 12 of the NFL season will see the New England Patriots travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. With a win over the Bengals, New England would improve to 10-2 on the season and continue to grow their lead over the division. Going into the week, things got off to a rough start for the Patriots as Milton Williams was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Though Week 12 started with bad news, the Patriots caught a break when Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase was suspended for the game. Without Chase, the Bengals' offense will lose its most valuable player, making the life of the defense slightly easier.
New England received some positive news during the week, with running back Rhamondre Stevenson likely to return this weekend, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, after missing the past two games due to a toe injury. Head coach Mike Vrabel spoke about Stevenson's progress and how there weren't "many restrictions" and that "he responded well to the practice." Vrabel would add "that as long as there are not any setbacks here, he'd be in line to play."
During Stevenson's absence, TreVeyon Henderson took a majority of the snaps at running back and made the most of it. Now that the veteran runner is back, the Patriots have to avoid falling back into old habits.
Patriots Can't Favor Rhamondre Stevenson if it Hurts TreVeyon Henderson
In Week 12, even though Stevenson will be back in the lineup, the Patriots need to continue to let TreVeyon Henderson be the starting running back. These past two weeks have been the best of Henderson's short career, with him rushing for 147 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 67 yards vs. the New York Jets, scoring two rushing touchdowns in each game. Against the Jets, Henderson also caught all five targets for 31 yards and one receiving score.
The Patriots already showed they were willing to ignore Henderson earlier this season when Stevenson's fumbling issues showed no end. If the former 2021 fourth-rounder is put back into the RB1 role and starts to lose the ball or isn't productive on the ground, New England must pull the plug on that experiment and throw Henderson back into the No. 1 spot.
With how well Henderson has played as the starting running back, the Pats must ride the momentum and continue to let him flourish. This doesn't mean that Stevenson doesn't see the field, but he also shouldn't see the lion's share of carries again. While Stevenson has had moments of good plays this year, Henderson's past two weeks have been better than any of the former's games this season.
The ideal scenario would be for the Patriots to find the perfect balance between Henderson's playmaking speed and Stevenson's veteran instincts. Hopefully, the veteran runner plays his part well and doesn't give New England any reason to take his carries away.
But if he does, Henderson will be ready and waiting to shine again.