Rhamondre Stevenson on fumble vs. Bengals: 'I probably should have just went down"
FOXBORO -- The comeback was right there for the Patriots. With the end zone in sight and the team down 22-18 to the Bengals in the final minute, New England kept feeding bell cow running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
And why not? Stevenson has been the team's best offensive player all year. He's the kind of back that can power his way into the end zone with a wall of defenders in his way, especially at the end of a game on a frigid December day.
Stevenson wasn't having a particularly great day to that point, with just 33 yards on 12 carries. But the Patriots confidently fed their lead running back again with the game on the line.
But then late-game disaster struck for the second straight week. Stevenson was hit and pushed back by the Cincinnati defense. While he tried to fight for yards, Bengals safety Von Bell got the ball out of his hands. Cincinnati recovered, and the comeback bid was over for the Patriots.
Stevenson hadn't lost a fumble all season. After the game, he admitted that he was maybe trying to do too much.
"I got the ball and was trying to make something happen. Probably doing more than I was supposed to do," the 24-year-old said in the New England locker room. "I probably should have just went down. Ultimately he took the ball from me and I fumbled."
Some are wondering why forward progress wasn't called and the play whistled dead before Stevenson coughed up the ball. After the game, referee Craig Wrolstad explained to pool reporter Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston why no call was made.
"In order to have forward progress, the runner has to be controlled by the defense," Wrolstad explained. "He has to be held and controlled, and basically have his feet taken away. We felt that he still had his feet. So, we did not feel that he was held and controlled by the defense. He was still free to gain yardage and then also, obviously, there was still a chance that he could fumble."
Stevenson didn't make any excuses when asked if he thought officials missed a call.
"It doesn't really matter what I think. They called it a fumble and [the Bengals] recovered the ball," he said. "Just playing through to the whistle. I don't know if the whistle blew or not. Regardless, I dropped the ball and turned the ball over."
The Patriots are now 7-8 after losing two straight in heartbreaking fashion. It was Stevenson's lateral that got New England's game-losing play started against the Raiders last week, and now he's thinking about a fumble that cost his team a chance at a comeback. New England's season feels just about over, with just an 11 percent chance at making the playoffs.
But that is now how the players are viewing things.
"Nothing has changed. I'm still coming in every day trying to work and get better. The rest of the team is doing the same. Just grind it out until the end," he said.
