Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye stand by Rhamondre Stevenson after two-fumble game

After not putting the ball on the ground over the first two games of the 2025 season, Rhamondre Stevenson's fumble issues resurfaced in Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New England Patriots running back fumbled twice, losing both.

Not only were those the first two fumbles of the year for Stevenson, they were his eighth and ninth since the start of the 2024 campaign. That gives him the most by any non-quarterback in that span, with no other player having more than six (New York Jets running back Breece Hall).

Both fumbles came at crucial points in the game. His first set the tone for the afternoon, coming on the opening drive one play after the Patriots picked up their first first down of the game. Stevenson initially broke through the line, but contact from behind knocked the ball loose.

The second came as the Patriots had a chance to tie the game early in the third quarter. Coming off an interception and nine-yard pass, they had a 2nd & 1 at the two-yard line. Again, Stevenson got through the line cleanly but was grabbed from behind, seemingly catching him off guard and forcing the ball out short of the end zone. Neither fumble came as the result of a particularly big hit.

This came after Stevenson was a driving force in the Patriots' win over Miami last week. He led the team with 142 all-purpose yards in that game.

At times, Stevenson looked like the same player against the Steelers. He helped convert multiple 3rd & 10-plus situations including two on a 92-yard drive before halftime (that also ended with a turnover at the two-yard line on an interception). Despite sitting for parts of the game due to the fumbles he put up 56 all-purpose yards, second on the team only to Hunter Henry (90 yards). That's as many yards as Antonio Gibson (who also fumbled) on the same number of touches and nine more yards than rookie TreVeyon Henderson, who led the team with 14 touches.

Yet the big story here is Stevenson's fumble issues continue. After fumbling just seven times total in his first 41 career games, he's now exceeded that number in his last 18 games going back to the start of last season.

What will the Patriots do about a playmaker who can't hold on to the football? Head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the path ahead for Stevenson after the game.

"It's like you sit there, and we were so excited about him and everybody is excited about him, the fans are, and we know what his capabilities are, and we've got to get him back," Vrabel said. "We need him. We absolutely need him. You see what he was able to do for us last week, his ability to make some plays."

While Vrabel showed that support for Stevenson, he did note changes could be on the way.

"Again, we'll just have to look at the technique and we'll have to look at the ball security, but we're going to need him," Vrabel continued. "We need his ability, but we also need to take care of the football. It's a long answer to tell you that I'm not really sure 20 minutes after the game what we're going to do, but we need him because he helped us win the game last week, and it was a different story today."

Quarterback Drake Maye also vocalized support for Stevenson after the game.

"He's one of our best players. I think there's nothing that I think he can do that would change my view of him as a player, as a teammate," Maye said. "He does everything the right way. He knows just as much as we know. Ball security is the No. 1 thing as a running back, and he's had a great season and a great last weekend. That's this league. One week you're heck of a game and he was on the right track this game, and that happens. He knows just as much as anybody else. I just pump him up, be there for him, and I know we need him throughout the season."

However, Stevenson wasn't quick to take those comments to heart. Specifically asked what it meant to hear that from his coach, he replied "I appreciate it, but I have to hold onto the ball to have value and put value on this team."

"If I can’t hold the ball, then they don’t need me," he added.

Stevenson wasn't the only Patriots player with turnover issues on Sunday. The Patriots gave the ball away five times - Gibson fumbled the ball and Maye had a fumble and an interception. It was the Patriots' first five-turnover game since Week 13 of the 2008 season (also a home loss to the Steelers).

Vrabel said postgame those issues will be addressed this week.

"We don't need to lose a football game to know that turnovers are very hard to overcome," he replied after the game when asked what lessons his team learned from this loss. "They erase all the good things that you do. They take away momentum. They take away points, give them field position. We didn't need to turn it over as many times as we did to learn a lesson. I think we knew that before. It was very unfortunate."

"Ball security comes down to technique," he added. "It comes down to other people protecting the guy with the ball, second guy in. Those are all things that we continue to talk about, have talked about, and will talk about. And decision making. Decision making when you have the football in your hand, whether that's a quarterback, whether that's a player that's reaching it, and it gets knocked out. We'll watch the tape and we'll clearly address the ball security. We've got to move on. Fix it and move on."

They'll have to fix it quickly ahead of the Carolina Panthers' visit to Gillette Stadium next week. The Panthers have forced at least one turnover in all three games this season, including three in a 30-0 shutout win over the Atlanta Falcons this week.