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Rhamondre Stevenson may have just committed one of the funniest moments of the 2024 preseason - and it was not even on the field.
During the New England Patriots' eventual 14-13 defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles, the running back was asked by sideline reporter Steve Burton about his reaction to linebacker Matthew Judon being traded to the Atlanta Falcons. But because the question was vaguely worded, he initially thought it was about former head coach Bill Belichick:
"Yeah, I'm gonna miss (him); that was one of my favorite coaches. You know, [Belichick's successor Jerod] Mayo, he's a great leader, he knows what he's doing with us. And yeah, I'm excited for Mayo and I think we can get it done with him."
To his credit, he needed only a moment to realize that he had misinterpreted the question:
“Oh, Judon... He’s moving on to better places, a different place. Excited for him. I still know he has a couple more years in him.”
Stevenson was limited to just 18 yards from six carries for the night, while new teammate Drake Maye rushed for 15 and a touchdown from four.
Rhamondre Stevenson says scoring touchdowns a priority for Patriots
One of the primary reasons for the Patriots' complete collapse in the 2023-24 season was their lack of scoring ability. They scored only 25 offensive touchdowns across 17 games - 16 rushing but just nine passing, third-fewest in the league ahead of only the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets.
As the team's lead running back, Rhamondre Stevenson should know this. But despite accumulating over 2,000 yards in his career, including a personal-best 1,040 as a sophomore in 2022-23, he has not exactly been a scoring machine, with just 14 touchdowns to his name.
And with a new offensive coordinator in Alex Van Pelt, he hopes that more sixes will happen for the team. During camp on Tuesday, Stevenson said:
"That's something we gotta work on. When it's two minutes and the game's on the line, we gotta get in the end zone. So just watching the film, and we'll correct it."
The Patriots conclude their preseason on August 25 with a visit to the Washington Commanders. Unusually for a preseason game, it will air nationwide on NBC.
