3 Patriots Who Almost Ruined Tank Opportunity in Week 12

The New England Patriots' pathetic 2023 season continued in Week 12 with another loss, this time to the New York Giants. While defeats are usually nothing to celebrate, this result created further distance between the Pats and Giants in the draft standings, which actually is a positive takeaway from an ugly affair.

Some on New England's side didn't embrace the tank opportunity here, however, and almost ruined this chance to stregthen the team's grip on a top-three draft pick.

Patriots Who Almost Ruined Tank Chance vs. Giants

1. Rhamondre Stevenson

Rhamondre Stevenson sure did pick an interesting moment to have his best outing of the year. Stevenson had his way with New York's run defense, finding several holes on the day and going on to record a season-high 97 rushing yards.

Even worse -- from a tanking perspective -- he managed to score the Patriots' only touchdown on the day with a seven-yard rush in the third quarter. That actually tied things up, and things remained knotted for an entire period of game time until a Giants field goal put New York ahead 10-7 with eight minutes left in the fourth.

Stevenson going off shouldn't have come as a big surprise, however. He's been building momentum recently, notching 87 and 88 yards in his previous two contests before this one. New York also owns one of the league's lousiest run defenses, ranking No. 5 in yards allowed per game.

Thankfully Stevenson was able to have a nice day without screwing up the team's draft positioning, which should provide a sliver of joy to the playmaking running back amid a disastrous season for New England.