- TreVeyon Henderson steals the show for the New England Patriots: After missing Week 1, Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled, leading Henderson to be the top back in New England, which included a touchdown run.
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Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots
Monitor Rico Dowdle’s health: Dowdle suffered a toe injury in the second quarter and was ruled out in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers used a two-man running back rotation last week, where Jaylen Waddle received the start but Dowdle played more snaps, in part because the drives Dowdle was on the field for lasted longer. This week, Dowdle got the start. He played the first drive, Warren the second and they both played on the following two possessions. Dowdle left at that point but returned to start the second half. He played six snaps on the first drive of the half, but only two more plays over the rest of the game.
Travis Homer played two snaps in the first half when Dowdle first left the game, but otherwise, it was all Warren whenever Dowdle was out. On one hand, Dowdle appears to be ahead of Warren on the depth chart after beginning both halves. If the injury isn’t serious, then Dowdle could be a buy-low candidate.
On the other hand, this could be an opportunity for Warren to earn more playing time and maximize his fantasy value. Warren is in his fifth NFL season, and he’s never played a game where his primary competition for targets missed a contest. Najee Harris didn’t miss a game in his three years overlapping with Warren, and Kenny Gainwell played in every matchup this season. His 50 offensive snaps in this game were a career high. While there is a strong chance Pittsburgh rotates in one of the backups a little bit more than Homer was worked in for this game, Warren would be a must-start player next week against the Cincinnati Bengals if Dowdle misses that game.
The Steelers adjust without Michael Pittman Jr.: The former Indianapolis Colts receiver was inactive due to a foot injury.
The Steelers' wide receiver rotation was straightforward last week. DK Metcalf played in one-, two- and three-wide receiver sets; Pittman played in two- and three-receiver sets, while Roman Wilson played in the slot in three-receiver sets. Rookie Germie Bernard only played three snaps in place of Wilson in his debut. Pittman showed up on the injury report with a foot injury and was ultimately inactive.
For the most part, the Steelers' wide receivers moved up a spot in the depth chart. Wilson consistently played in two-receiver sets, while Bernard was consistently on the field in 11 personnel. The only difference this week is Ben Skowronek substituted in more frequently, particularly for Wilson in 11 personnel. The Steelers ran so much 11 personnel that the plays Wilson missed balanced out with the snaps Bernard missed in two-receiver sets, leading the two to finish with the same snap totals.
Bernard led the team in receiving yards at 35 on four receptions, while Wilson paced Pittsburgh in receptions at five for 28 yards. It wouldn’t be surprising if we see Bernard mix in a little more frequently going forward, regardless of Pittman’s health.
TreVeyon Henderson shines in his return: Henderson led the Patriots in rushing production with 16 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Henderson missed Week 1 with an ankle injury, but was a full participant in practice all week and was ready to play in this game. In his absence, Rhamondre Stevenson played 84.5% of snaps last week, including 100% on third downs, in the two-minute drill, in short yardage and at the goal line. Corey Kiner was the primary backup, and Lan Larison was a practice squad call-up. This week, Larison remained on the practice squad.
Stevenson took all four snaps on the first drive, but ended up losing a fumble on a reception. This led Henderson to play 21 of 25 snaps over the next five drives while Stevenson played six. The split was a little more balanced in the following four series, with Henderson taking 12 snaps to nine by Stevenson. On the final drive, Kiner played four snaps to one by Stevenson.
The fumble likely impacted both backs' playing time; if the plan was to have Henderson as the lead back, he likely would have played on the first drive. However, it’s also possible that Henderson played well enough to take a lead going forward. Stevenson remained the primary third-down back throughout the game, so the only thing we can be decently confident in heading into next week is that Stevenson will likely remain the third-down option. Barring strong comments from the coaching staff one way or another, starting either back next week will be a bit of a gamble.
New England adjusts without A.J. Brown: The Patriots' new star wide receiver is on injured reserve, leaving the Patriots without a clear top wide receiver.
Brown made his debut with the Patriots as their lead receiver. Mack Hollins played much more than expected. Romeo Doubs and DeMario Douglas generally joined Brown in 11 personnel. Brown suffered a high ankle sprain, which landed him on injured reserve. He is expected to miss four to six weeks. Once he left the game last week, Hollins started playing more in 11 personnel, while Doubs saw more snaps in 12 personnel. Efton Chism III was a healthy inactive last week, but was active this week with Brown out.
Unsurprisingly, Hollins, Doubs and Douglas were the primary trio of wide receivers in 11 personnel, with Douglas taking 100% of snaps and Kyle Williams taking a few snaps from the outside receivers. In 12 and 21 personnel, it was primarily Hollins and Doubs, although Douglas and Williams both mixed in. Chism was the Patriots' primary wide receiver out of 22 personnel.
Doubs was the clear leader in receiving production with three receptions for 96 yards. While most of that was from a 63-yard catch, it’s fair to expect him to be New England’s lead wide receiver over the next few weeks. However, rotating out at times in 11, 12 and 21 personnel, as well as not playing at all in 22 personnel, left Doubs playing less than his typical game with the Green Bay Packers.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Steelers activated running back Travis Homer from the practice squad for this game on Saturday, giving them four active halfbacks.
- Patriots backup tight end Eli Raridon left with a thigh injury. This led Cameron Latu to take over as the second tight end over the rest of the game. Once Raridon left the game, Henry played 100% of snaps in single tight end sets after rotating with Raridon at times last week and at the start of this game.
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
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New Orleans Saints @ Baltimore Ravens
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Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
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Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans
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Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets
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Cleveland Browns @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Philadelphia Eagles @ Tennessee Titans
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Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos
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Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers
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Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals
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Washington Commanders @ Dallas Cowboys
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Miami Dolphins @ San Francisco 49ers
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Indianapolis Colts @ Kansas City Chiefs
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Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.