New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson once again found himself in the middle of a costly play that contributed to a defeat on Saturday.
The Patriots were in the midst of a comeback from 22-0 down against the Cincinnati Bengals, having closed to within four with a minute to go and the ball at the Bengals’ five-yard line.
Stevenson got a handoff and tried to fight for extra yardage, but fumbled while doing so. The Bengals recovered, essentially ending the game.
Stevenson admitted after the game that he should have simply gone down, and was trying to do too much by fighting for the extra yardage.
Some argued that Stevenson should have been ruled down by forward progress before the fumble, but Stevenson was not making that excuse.
This is the second consecutive week that a Patriots player made a bad mistake while trying to do too much.
The team seems to be pressing a bit, as Saturday’s loss dropped them to 7-8 and may have delivered a fatal blow to their playoff hopes.
Stevenson was limited to 30 yards on 13 carries in Saturday’s game. He has had a good season overall, but high-profile mistakes keep happening to him.
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