While Drake Maye had another incredible Sunday for the New England Patriots, the team’s offensive gameplan against the Titans started on the ground. Players said the mindset was to “run the damn ball,” and Rhamondre Stevenson answered that call in Nashville.

It was just a few weeks ago that fans were screaming to bench — or even trade or release — Stevenson amid his fumbling issues. And after he ran for just 18 yards on his 13 carries in Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints, there were cries to give rookie TreVeyon Henderson the bulk of the snaps in place of Stevenson. 

But head coach Mike Vrabel remained confident in the fifth-year running back, and he was rewarded for that faith in Sunday’s 31-13 win. Stevenson did indeed run the damn ball, as he racked up a 88 yards on his 18 carries (both season-highs for the back), which was good for 4.9 yards per attempt. 

Stevenson got the ball rolling for the Patriots’ offense Sunday afternoon. The first four plays were all runs, which saw Stevenson pick up 38 yards and a pair of first downs. Overall, he ran for 42 yards on five carries on the opening drive, which ended with a game-tying field goal for New England.

His longest run of the day was a 16-yard scamper on a second-and-6 late in the first quarter, one of four first downs he picked up in the game. Stevenson did the majority of his damage in the first half, as he rushed for 77 yards on 10 carries. He found the end zone midway through the third quarter from four yards out for his third touchdown of the season, which capped off a 12-play, 88-yard drive and gave the Patriots a 24-13 lead. 

Stevenson got his groove back in the Music City, but he was quick to praise the New England offensive line after Sunday’s victory.

“I give thanks to the O-line. They were working, moving people all day, getting double teams, getting up to the second level, so they made my job a little easier, and I feel like we were all working together,” he said. 

Vrabel said the success of the run game Sunday came down to Stevenson’s decisiveness, and the line’s ability to create space for the running back.

“I thought we were more decisive and gave him a chance early at the line of scrimmage, to get into the line of scrimmage and make some breaks, give him some space,” said Vrabel. “There was a lot there to continue to improve on. If you want to hit on some big ones, you have to make big blocks.”

Earlier Monday during his weekly radio interview on WEEI, Vrabel praised Stevenson for his blocking and pointed out that his impact goes far beyond plays where the football is in the running back’s hands.

“You look at last week at the end of the game. He steps up, he blocks the inside linebacker. Yesterday, he’s blocking in protection, he’s up in the A-gap,” said Vrabel. “He goes out, scans out to the nickel, and we’re able to get a big third down pass off. So he does a lot of things without the football, and then when he does have the football — when he takes care of it and he’s decisive — he’s been good.”

Stevenson has now gone two games since he last lost a fumble in Week 5 in the team’s upset win over the Bills. He’ll look to keep rolling in Week 8 when the Patriots host the Cleveland Browns and their vaunted defense, which has allowed just 82.4 rushing yards per game so far this season — fourth-best in the NFL.

“Just attack and practice the same way we did last week, just stack the days,” Stevenson said of his mindset this week. “Just stack the days, be consistent. We got a pretty relentless team and I love that about us. We take challenges and we pass the test.”