Rhamondre Stevenson sports Boobie Miles jersey after carrying Patriots' offense in win over Jets
BOSTON -- Halloween may not be until Monday, but Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson got dressed up a day early.
After a powerful offensive performance in the Patriots' 22-17 win over the Jets in New Jersey, Stevenson stepped to the postgame podium wearing a No. 45 Permian Panthers jersey. That jersey was worn by Boobie Miles in the 2004 film "Friday Night Lights." (The real Boobie Miles wore No. 35 during his high school playing days.)
"I had to rep him today," Stevenson said with a smile. "Just something fun. You know, I love the movie. That's my favorite movie -- top five, for sure. So just had to put it on today."
Stevenson certainly played the part of a lead back during the game, leading the Patriots in both rushing yards and receiving yards.
On the ground, he ran 16 times for 71 yards, and he caught seven of the eight passes thrown his way by Mac Jones, picking up 72 yards as a pass catcher. Stevenson turned in the biggest play of the Patriots' lone touchdown drive of the day, too, and he did so mostly through individual effort. Running up the gut, breaking a would-be tackle from Jordan Whitehead at the line of scrimmage, stiff-arming the tackle attempt of Lamarcus Joyner and bolting away from linebacker C.J. Mosley, Stevenson picked up 35 yards on the first play of the second half. The drive ended with a touchdown that gave New England a 13-10 lead. It was their first lead of the game, and they never gave it back.
While rushing the ball has always been a strength for Stevenson, he's stepped up his abilities as a pass catcher in a significant way this season.
After catching just 28 passes in 19 collegiate games at Oklahoma, Stevenson caught 14 passes in 12 games in his rookie NFL season. This year, in just eight games, Stevenson has already caught 32 passes. Stevenson said that it's no accident.
"Oh yeah. As soon as the offseason came last year, that's the first thing I worked on. Just route running, just recognizing defenses, things like that," Stevenson said. "And I felt like it's coming into play, and I'm doing a good job at it."
As for his postgame attire, Stevenson was naturally asked if he ever watched the television series bearing the same name as his favorite movie.
"I did [watch the TV series]," Stevenson said. "I like the movie better, though."
