New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson is on track to return for the club’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Henderson, who has been sidelined for the last three weeks with an ankle injury, missed the season-opener but is expected to return to the fold after being listed as a full participant at practice on Wednesday. Henderson was the club’s most explosive offensive weapon during his rookie season, scoring touchdowns of 69, 65, 55, and 52 yards on his way to compiling 1,132 all-purpose yards and 10 total touchdowns — all while playing in every single regular season and postseason game for New England in 2025 after doing the same at Ohio State in 2024.
It’s safe to say his presence will elevate the overall ceiling of the offense, which could be one of many impactful storylines to watch for during Patriots-Steelers on Sunday: The Patriots were overly reliant on Rhamondre Stevenson during their season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks, putting the ball in his hands more than anyone else on the roster while refusing to trust running backs Corey Kiner (six touches) and Lan Larison (two touches), and failing to feature the likes of A.J. Brown (three touches), Romeo Doubs (zero touches), and Kyle Williams (zero touches). Henderson’s return will help two-fold: there’s no need to pile all the responsibility on Stevenson and there needs to an explosive element added with the loss of Brown.
Henderson will almost certainly receive the majority of the passing game reps that went to both Kiner and Larison, which means a healthy number of targets and a more diverse scheme in the running game that should include ways to get him into open space. If anything, the offense will be less predictable than it was with just one guy getting all the touches. The Steelers were involved in one of the worst offensive games in the history of the sport last week against the Atlanta Falcons. 5-for-25 combined on third and fourth down. 188 total yards lost by penalty or sack. 1,069-of-1,097 games that have been analyzed by Sumer Sports in Total EPA.
The Patriots held their own against the team they lost to in the Super Bowl, and while that performance was aided by the fact they spent the majority of the game defending the backup quarterback, there is little doubt about their ability to get off the field in an efficient manner despite being put in disadvantaged situations. 9-for-12 on third and fourth down. 0 first downs allowed by penalty. 6th in scoring defense. Pittsburgh is typically a rock fight, but you can clearly see where the biggest matchup advantage lies entering the game. If you can’t score against the team that finished bottom-half in scoring defense last season why would you expect to be able to score against the team that finished top-five?
Drake Maye had about as bad a performance as you’re ever going to see in the fourth quarter last week, tossing three interceptions on three drives — with the most egregious one coming as he floated the ball into the end zone despite having an opportunity to tie the game and send it to overtime with a chip shot field goal. If we’ve learned anything from the third-year signal-caller it’s that he rarely puts together two stinkers in a row… New England is going to want to control clock by running the ball, but there will be opportunities in the passing game if it does that with any sort of regularity. Doubs isn’t going to remain catch-less for long.
Williams should get at least one explosive target. Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon are going to be a focus. I’d imagine the biggest point of emphasis coming into the week — other than winning — will be getting the young gunslinger right.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
