Why Patriots reduced TreVeyon Henderson’s role in playoffs in favor of Rhamondre Stevenson originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Over their first three playoff games, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson has seen a noticeable dip in his workload.

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From Week 8 through Week 18, Henderson was averaging 15.6 touches per contest, which was more than the 11.1 touches per game Stevenson was averaging in that same span.

However, during the postseason, Stevenson has seen much more work, with the veteran back tallying 19.3 touches per game to Henderson’s 8.6.

And, in the AFC Championship Game, Stevenson had a whopping 25 touches to Henderson’s three.

So, why have the Patriots limited the electric rookie running back during the postseason? Here’s what we know.

Why Patriots reduced TreVeyon Henderson’s role

While we can’t say for sure, we would chalk up Henderson’s reduced role to the Pats simply wanting to go with the more experienced player and trusted player, which is Stevenson.

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Henderson’s experience in the NFL doesn’t extend beyond this past season, while Stevenson has been in the league for five years.

Henderson is no doubt extremely talented and a big play waiting to happen, but his game still needs more work, especially in pass protection. Stevenson is the more complete player right now, which also helps his cause.

After what we’ve seen out of Henderson this season, we’re very optimistic about his future in the NFL. But for now, Stevenson is the more trusted back and we would expect that to continue in the Super Bowl.

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