Film Room: How Rhamondre Stevenson and Patriots OL Bullied the Bengals

After months of scrutiny, the Patriots temporarily silenced doubters with a huge upset win over the Bengals.

Head coach Jerod Mayo emphasized the importance of controlling the line of scrimmage this week, and New England did so on both sides of the ball. Offensively, that meant draining the clock to keep Cincinnati’s offense sidelined and its defense tired.

In his first game as a primary play-caller, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt showed the discipline to keep things simple and trust his rushing attack. The offense didn’t hide its intentions either, as rookie Caedan Wallace was used as an eligible lineman on nearly half of the team’s designed carries. Of Wallace’s 18 total snaps, just one was a pass, and he was often joined by Austin Hooper and/or Hunter Henry

It wasn’t a perfect plan, but Rhamondre Stevenson and company stung drives together when they needed them counted most.

Three of the Patriots’ four scoring drives lasted at least 12 plays. These included a 14-play touchdown drive and a 12-play series to end the 1st half. They also iced the game using the same run four times in a row despite the Bengals selling out to stop them.

“There comes a point in time where they know we’re going to run it,” Mayo said after the game. “We know we’re going to run it, and all the fans know that we’re going to run it, and we’re going to have to pick up four yards. That’s the challenge that I always offer to those guys. It’s really man-on-man in those instances. It has nothing to do really with X’s and O’s. It’s about dominating the player across from me. And those guys did that.”

This throwback style won’t be enough every week, but the team needed it to upset a talented Cincinnati squad in a hostile environment.

Here’s how New England shocked the world and bullied the Bengals on their home turf.

All advanced stats courtesy of PFF.

Rhamondre Stevenson

When Stevenson signed a four-year, $36 million extension this summer, many questioned the move. In an era so dependent on passing, why spend big money on a running back?

Mayo and Van Pelt haven’t been shy about wanting to be a run-first team, and the head coach challenged Stevenson to carry that load this spring.

“He was just telling me we’re going to run the ball,” Stevenson explained. “We got to be a force in the run game. And he believes in me. And, you know, just get the ball downhill, get first downs, and keep our offense on the field.”

Stevenson rewarded that faith by (literally) carrying the offense to a win on Sunday.  He ran for 120 yards while matching or setting career highs with 25 carries, eight conversions, and a whopping ten missed tackles forced. Stevenson also gained 98.3% of his rushing yards after contact, a testament to his quick feet, burst, and contact balance.

“One thing Eliot [Wolf] and I agreed on is that Rhamondre’s a very special back,” Mayo said. “He may not get all the publicity and things like that, but this is a guy that can run the ball, fall forward for extra yards every single play, catch the ball out of the backfield. Also a very smart football player. You want to get the ball in the hands of your best players, and I would say Rhamondre is one of them.”

Much was made of the Patriots’ new wide zone scheme this offseason, and rightfully so, given its importance in the West Coast system. Even Stevenson, familiar with the scheme from his time at Oklahoma, voiced his excitement about the change. But as Sunday’s game progressed, it became clear New England’s advantage was going downhill behind its massive line. Stevenson noticed and spoke up, and like any good play-caller, Van Pelt listened to one of his offensive leaders.

“They were rolling those guys off the ball with just duo,” Stevenson said. “I didn’t think we needed to get to the outside zone. So, yeah, I voiced my opinion on that to AVP. I think we should just, you know, run downhill. And, you know, he blessed me and just did that.”

 

Duo, also known as power without a puller, aims to create as many doubles as possible to create vertical displacement. If defenses commit to filling interior gaps, backs can capitalize by bouncing outside to space. This meant a defensive back having to tackle Stevenson one-on-one, which was a mismatch the back took full advantage of.

Mayo told The Greg Hill Show that despite being tired, Stevenson didn’t want to leave the game at the end. He called the moment “the start of something special,” and the big back proved that he was right by putting the game away.

Stevenson downplayed the heavy workload, saying he had another quarter in him when taking the postgame podium. Even so, Stevenson will need more help from the passing game and wingman Antonio Gibson, who was nursing a hip injury this week. 2022 showed how dangerous putting an entire offense on one player can be, and overusing a pricey back is risky.

That said, Stevenson’s performance put the league on notice that he’s coming for a top-10 spot, and I won’t be betting against him.

 

Blocking

Scott Peters’ offensive line has been one of the league’s most heavily criticized units. Even with proven commodities like Mike Onwenu and David Andrews and intriguing young talents like Sidy Sow, Layden Robinson, and Caedan Wallace, New England’s front has been projected to rank near the bottom for a second straight season.

But those who watched the line closely have seen the group’s potential, particularly with the most consistent coaching they’ve had in years. Mayo has pushed back against this criticism and did so again while speaking to reporters this morning.

“I’ve been saying it for a long time– I think the whole offensive line conversation has been overblown,” Mayo said. “Every game, every preseason game, those guys have done a good job moving bodies and establishing toughness on the line of scrimmage. They did that yesterday. I’m not really too concerned with the offensive line. Those guys are going to get better every week.”

Stevenson deserves credit for getting nearly all his yards after contact, but that doesn’t mean his blockers weren’t doing their jobs. The offense struggled to block wide zone before largely abandoning it late, and the Bengals had their wins while selling out to stop Stevenson.

“They had some plans, did some things in the second half to try to stop the run game, from my perspective, some movement stuff, things like that, that made it harder to run,” David Andrews said after the game. “But hey, when they knew we were running it, and we did too, we got the upper hand.”

 

Still, good things happened when the Patriots leaned on their bread and butter, and the blocking was essential to that success.

“I would say the way we were running the ball,” Mayo said when asked what gave him confidence in his offense early. “I felt pretty confident about that. From the beginning to the end, our offensive line, they did a great job, led by David Andrews and Big Mike [Onwenu]. Those guys did a great job. Having [Vederian] Lowe here, as well. It was good to get him in the game. And they were moving bodies.”

Robinson, who carried over his strong rookie summer with another solid day, also received high praise from Mayo during a video conference call this morning.

“There was a point in time during training camp where, not only myself, but I think the other coaches, saw it that we said, ‘You know what, Layden Robinson has an opportunity to be a special player in this league,'” Mayo said. “He’s tough. He’ll move guys off the line of scrimmage. He can do it all, and his overall effort and mentality is something that we think about changing the culture. He’s definitely one of those guys that fits into that box, and he did a great job. Now, in saying that, it’s only one game. We’ll see how that continues to progress going forward.”

Wallace was also key to the ground game’s success. He was pancaking blockers and getting strong movement at the point of attack. The plan of using him as a jumbo tight end is similar to Nate Solder’s use as a rookie before Sebastian Vollmer went down.

Fellow tight-end-types Hooper and Henry aren’t the most dominant blockers, but their grit is undeniable. Both had their moments, with Hooper being a fixture on duo carries.

Practice squadder Michael Jordan was solid filling in for Sow (ankle) at left guard, though he had trouble making reach blocks in zone. A healthy Sow should raise the ground game’s ceiling even further.

“I think everyone bought into what we were trying to do, and it’s been different,” Andrews told reporters postgame. “It’s been different technique-wise for a lot of us, but I see a lot of buy-in from guys, guys trying to do it the right way, and when you have guys trying to do it that way, and not operating in their own system, it’s easy to adjust like that.”​

If Peters’ group uses their lowlights as learning moments and builds on their highlights, they’ll be a tough out for any team they line up against.