It's 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line with 22 seconds left in a critical divisional matchup vs. the Jets, with the Patriots desperately needing a win to snap a six-game losing streak.
Following last week's loss, head coach Jerod Mayo challenged his team to play tougher, starting with winning the line of scrimmage, and here was their chance to answer the call from their head coach. Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt gave the ball to one of New England's best players: "blast" to lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson. One yard for the game. One yard to circle the wagons after a difficult week at 1 Patriot Place.
According to one Patriots starter, offensive line coach Scott Peters "[expletive] loves" this play. In this case, the Pats ran it with seven offensive linemen on the field in their jumbo package.
"We got seven O-Linemen, and we're blasting a hole right into the end zone. Every time that's up, I'm thinking we're definitely scoring," extra offensive lineman Zach Thomas said.
From a design perspective, the play is essentially power lead. The play-side blockers block down to the gaps to their left while LG Michael Jordan pulls from the backside, TE Hunter Henry motions across the formation, and G Sidy Sow leads the way from a fullback alignment. The idea is to have Jordan, Henry, and Sow get to the second level, but they're also there as "fixers" in case the exact situation occurs that did on Sunday.
"I'm basically a fixer there in that aspect. It was a great design in that aspect. I'm there to fill that gap and, hopefully, open up enough space because you just have to give 38 enough space. It was great running by him," tight end Hunter Henry said this week.
At the snap, New York ran an "outlaw" stunt, where the A and B-Gap defenders jump outside. With the Pats base blocks aimed at their inside gaps, the Jets defensive linemen beat the initial blocks, but that's where the Pat's "fixers" come in. Henry and Jordan make the Patriots right by blocking the on-the-line defenders, and Stevenson punches it in.
"I know a lot of people are saying big Mike [Onwenu] whiffed on that, but if that guy plays outside because of a certain defense, then I'm supposed to block that guy," Jordan told Patriots.com. "That's how it's supposed to play out."
"You want to block the guy, but when he's out charging, like, I'm blocking down to my left gap, so when he does go to my right gap, it's not saying I'm not responsible for him, but we've covered that," Onwenu said.
Although the blockers sorted things out, Stevenson deserves credit for running through the pile to get into the end zone. NextGen Stats credited Stevenson with 1.3 yards after contact on the game-winning score. Based on NGS tracking, Stevenson should've been stuffed for a loss. Instead, he plowed into the end zone to win the game. Stevenson accumulated 59 rushing yards after contact in the game, meaning he had more yards after contact than total rushing yards (48).
"When it gets to that point in the game, I'm not even really worried about what the play is, what the blocking assignments are, where the hole is supposed to be. I'm just trying to get into the end zone. So that was my mindset. Just got to get six points," Stevenson told Patriots.com.
This season, Stevenson has often made something out of nothing. The Pats lead-back is tied for sixth among all ball carriers with 27 missed tackles forced, adding seven more MTFs against the Jets. Stevenson is also 12th among all running backs in yards after contact (393). So, how does the Pats RB1 accumulate all those yards after contact?
"Honestly, I think it's just a mindset. I don't really think it's no drills you could do and things like that. It's just a mindset. Never let the first guy tackle you, and be relentless with getting yards," Stevenson said.
All week, the topic surrounding the team was how the Patriots would respond to Coach Mayo challenging them to play tougher. If any play showcased toughness, it was Stevenson's game-winner. Along with Coach Mayo's definition of a tough team, here is another football cliche: when you need a yard, can you get a yard?
"It was one of those breakthrough moments. Obviously, we aren't where we want to be right now still. But it feels good to go out there and execute. Do that for the team and the organization. It felt good coming out on top," right tackle Trey Jacobs told Patriots.com.
"It was a do-or-die fourth down. The feeling after scoring was unbelievable. Just jumping around and having a good time," said Thomas. "It was like the biggest yard possible."
On Sunday, the Patriots snapped their six-game losing streak by getting a yard when they absolutely needed it most.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
