Patriots News 11-02, No Stevenson This Week
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Good morning. Here is your Patriots news, 11-02, and NFL notes this week. Besides the Patriots-Falcons game, we’ll be keeping a sharp eye on the Buffalo-Kansas City game later today, as it affects the entire picture of the AFC as well as within the division. The Bills have won the last four regular-season matchups, while the Chiefs have won the previous four playoff games between the two teams.
The Patriots have the opportunity to make it six in a row with a win today over Atlanta.
The Falcons are all over the place this season, and the question is, which team shows up this afternoon? The one who narrowly lost to Tampa, and beat Minnesota, Washington, and Buffalo? Or the team that got smoked 30-0 by Carolina and 34-10 by Miami?
The Falcons have some talented players on the roster, especially Bijan Robinson and Drake London, but they haven’t consistently been able to put anything together. The defense, last week withstanding, is very good.
The Patriots should be able to run the ball against Atlanta’s defense. Still, without Rhamondre Stevenson, it will be up to TreVeyon Henderson to carry the team this week, with Terrell Jennings backing him up.
The November 4th NFL trade deadline is right around the corner. For the New England Patriots, it provides an opportunity to bolster the roster after recently trading Keion White and Kyle Dugger.
The Patriots have 10 picks in the 2026 NFL draft at their disposal to work with, which includes an additional fourth-round selection and four picks in the sixth round. So, who do we think the Patriots will target?
If you’re going to dream, dream big, right? But as much as I’d love to see the team make a move for Trey Hendrickson or Maxx Crosby, I think the chances of either one of them being dealt are pretty remote.
There are a couple that are very possible.
Arden Key, Titans-
Key played for Mike Vrabel and the Titans in Tennessee in 2023, where he played 63 percent of their defensive snaps and recorded 6.0 sacks. After finishing with 6.5 sacks last year, the veteran has notched just 1.5 sacks in five games this season.
If the Patriots are interested in him, he’d probably be the most probable edge rusher that they’d sign.
Jaelan Phillips, Dolphins-
The Patriots’ trade of Keion White leaves the depth behind Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson relatively thin. A former first-round pick in 2021, Phillips has been limited to just 12 games in 2023 and 2024 due to injuries and will be a free agent after the season.
Phillips has tallied 30 pressures and three sacks while appearing in all nine games for the Dolphins this season. Would Miami trade him within the division? He will be a free agent after this season.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, Giants-
The Giants drafted Thibodeaux with the fifth pick in the 2022 NFL draft. While never quite living up to his draft position, he has become a solid pass rusher with a high ceiling. He had 11.5 sacks in 2023, but only managed 5.5 in 2024. Playing behind Abdul Carter and Brian Burns, he has notched just 2.5 so far this season.
He’s only 24, and is under contract through the 2026 season.
Stefon Diggs: The Patriots’ wide receiver, after scoring his first touchdown in a New England uniform last week, celebrated with teammates, coaches, and then the crowd at Gillette Stadium. But he then found and embraced Dr. Michael Akinbola from the Patriots’ training staff. But he went one further.
“The first touchdown ball went to the training room, so shoutout to them,” Diggs told the media later. “They helped me up to this point – getting me right.”
“We always talk about me touching the paint, so I said that the first one was going to them. We put in a lot of work,” Diggs added.
“Stefon bringing us the football from his first-ever touchdown as a Patriot was an awesome gesture,” said Dr. Akinbola, the Patriots’ director of rehab/physical therapist.
“We’re humbled that he chose to acknowledge and celebrate with us. We’re grateful to be part of his comeback story and proud of him for the leadership, hard work, and energy he brings every day. Excited to keep building and see what more this season has to offer.”
It is always great to hear stuff like this.
Rhamondre Stevenson: The starting running back for the team will miss this week’s game with a toe injury that caused him to miss the entire week of practice.
With Stevenson out, the onus will fall on TreVeyon Henderson, Terrell Jennings, and one of the recent signings to the practice squad. The Patriots signed veteran D’Ernest Johnson and Jonathan Ward to their practice squad this week. One of them could be elevated for the game, but official gameday elevations are usually announced on Saturday (this was written on Friday night).
Austin Hooper: The Patriots’ tight end received a gift from Randy Moss this week. Moss sent Hooper a pair of “You Got Mossed” gloves for his nice catch during the game last week.
It’s rare to see a tight end get the honor like that; it is usually a wide receiver thing. But well deserved.
Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek and I broke down the win against Cleveland on our Sunday night postgame podcast. Later in the week, the three of us broke down the upcoming Falcons’ game, focusing on key matchups and key strategies for success.
Join Mike and I (Derek will be out of town) for our post-game podcast at 8 pm on tonight, and we’ll break down the game.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position.
This will be displayed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots aim to win their sixth consecutive game and improve to 7-2. The Falcons come to town and are looking to break a two-game losing streak.
While the Falcons’ defense, especially the pass defense, is excellent, their offense has struggled to put points on the board, only scoring 120 points through seven games (28th). The Patriots’ defense, despite its first possession struggles, is currently 4th in the league, allowing just 18.3 points per game.
From a Patriots perspective, what must be done to win the game this week?
This formula is similar to last week’s. The Falcons, like the Browns, have a very talented running back. Bijan Robinson excels at yards after contact (429) and breaking tackles (36). The Patriots have to bottle him up before he can get to the second level, where he can do damage.
Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, and Khyiris Tonga have been outstanding at penetrating and disrupting the running game at the point of attack. They’ll need to continue that this week against Robinson, who is one of the best RBs in the league.
The big men have been very good at creating pressure, and with Michael Penix not being very mobile, they’ll have to push the pocket, not allowing Penix to step up in the pocket where he can hit quick throws to his tight ends and Drake London.
The Patriots’ quarterback has been playing at an MVP level this season, and now he’s facing the #1 pass defense in terms of yardage (149.1 yards per game) this week. The Falcons present issues, especially with their third-down pressure packages, similar to what Brian Flores does in Minnesota.
One way to keep them on their heels is to win early downs and use play action to take some shots down the field. Besides Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry, and Kayshon Boutte, Maye should use Pop Douglas and Mack Hollins, making the Falcons’ defense defend every blade of grass.
Boutte matching up with Mike Hughes with the deep ball will be a key matchup.
The Falcons, despite the low point production, have talented weapons at the skill positions. Drake London and Darnell Mooney at wide receiver, Kyle Pitts at tight end, and Robinson out of the backfield give Penix good weapons to work with.
London and Christian Gonzalez appear to be a great matchup if the Patriots opt to use man coverage. London has excelled in attacking zone coverage. Pitts is a challenging matchup, as the Patriots have struggled to cover tight ends. This could be a Carlton Davis III matchup, while Marcus Jones will draw Mooney out of the slot. This is another intriguing matchup.
This is a spot where the pass rush has to get home. Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson have brought pressure, and with Penix not being especially mobile, this is a week where they have to be on top of their games to force a turnover or two.
The Patriots ran for 175 yards two weeks ago against the Titans. Last week they pounded the ball for 177 against the Browns. Although leading rusher Rhamondre Stevenson is out this week, the Patriots will look to generate success on the ground, which will keep the defense honest and open up opportunities for play-action.
Atlanta’s run defense is not as stout, ranking 21st in rushing yards allowed and 23rd in yards per attempt. They have allowed 100+ yards rushing in six of the seven games thus far in 2025.
With Stevenson out, TreVeyon Henderson is the main guy this week, and they’ll sprinkle in Terrell Jennings. Henderson offers more breakaway speed, but not as much power as Stevenson, so this will be an area to bear watching.
Other than the Patriots game, I didn’t watch any of the other games until Monday night due to scheduling issues. But watching the Ravens on Thursday night, unless they get a further influx of injuries, they’ll win that division. But you never know…that’s why they play the games.
That being said, what a horrible tripping call on Miami, wiping out a long pass that would have set the Dolphins up at the seven-yard line. Would it have made a difference? Well, we’ll never know, but that call stunk to the high heavens.
Now we’ll see how the rest of the schedule goes.
Thursday Night Football:
Baltimore over Miami 1-0
Sunday Day Games:
Chicago over Cincinnati
Detroit over Minnesota
Green Bay over Carolina
LA Chargers over Tennessee
New England over Atlanta
San Francisco over NYG
Indianapolis over Pittsburgh
Denver over Houston
Jacksonville over Las Vegas
LA Rams over New Orleans
Buffalo over Kansas City
Sunday Night Football:
Seattle over Washington
Monday Night Football:
Dallas over Arizona
BYE WEEK:
Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last Week 9—4
2025 Season 82—38—1
2024 Season 204—68
2023 Season 178—94
2022 Season: 178—92—2
2021 Season: 183—88—1
2020 Season: 169—86—1
2019 Season: 162—93—1
“Well, they like to send five out of base. That’s something that they like to do. I think that they’re penetrating. I think [David] Onyemata has always been a really good player. Being able to just get guys on the edge, being able to get [Jalon] Walker back and seeing where they are and [Zach] Harrison with his length inside.
“He’s kind of like a hybrid four-technique. I haven’t seen him since he was in high school in Columbus. He’s gone from like 200 pounds to now 290. That’s just a unique matchup for an interior defensive lineman that kind of has that skill set who looks like an outside linebacker, but probably rushes inside. So, I think that’s helped.
“They just are kind of getting it done by group. They play a lot of guys, and so by playing a lot of guys, you get their best, I would say, energy. There are some games and schemes, and other than that, it’s usually 1-on-1, and guys are winning 1-on-1. So, that’ll put a big premium on us up front when they get us into those five-down situations.
Mike Vrabel was asked about the Falcons’ pass rush and why it has been so successful.
“No. That was just because they got tired of putting the pinnies on. So again, I’m sure you guys are probably wondering who’s who. I am, too. It’s like, No. 7 with the red shoes or No. 7 with the orange shoes. I apologize for that, but it just makes it a more efficient thing. I like the look of the jerseys. It’s no disrespect to any player. It’s just the jersey looks cleaner with the number.
“Obviously, Bijan [Robinson] is a focal point for what they’re going to do. He’s an excellent player, fantastic player. I compared him to Marshall Faulk; I got some eyebrows that were raised, and I was like, ‘Well, Google Marshall Faulk tonight and enjoy the highlights.’
“So yeah, just efficiency at practice, I think. I apologize if that threw you guys off. We weren’t trying to hide anybody. We were just trying to be more efficient at practice so that when the next back got in there or they were moving, we wouldn’t have to put the pinnie on.“
Mike Vrabel, after being asked if he’s ever had three practice players wearing the same number, in this case, #7 to simulate Bijan Robinson.
“Well, I think it’s just gotten more aggressive. With just the amount of possessions that you end up having, sometimes there can be as few as eight possessions, and you have to make the most of them.
“Sometimes you get 10, you get 11. You don’t want to be reckless. You want to be sound in your decision-making, field location, flow of the game, and what that looks like. For example, at the end of the half, we talked about at Buffalo, just feeling like we didn’t want to go in at half, risking that it would be tied, and whatever that emotion was for us. The way that we were playing, 3-3 game, took the field goal. It could be a different story this weekend, for example, if that ball’s on the 1-yard line with an untimed down. So, it’s just kind of the flow of the game, but obviously, it’s a situation where you try to use whatever numbers that we have—game condition, weather, all things that factor into it.
Vrabel was asked about going for it on fourth downs this season
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“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our PatsFans.com Patriots No Huddle podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Derek Havens, Mike D’Abate, and I discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
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