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The New England Patriots might have their starting running back return in time for a Week 7 London game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. As the team prepares to play in their first overseas game of the year, Rhamondre Stevenson gave the media reason to believe he will be back in the lineup despite Jerod Mayo's pessimistic statement just hours before.
Stevenson spoke to the media in London on Friday, predicting that he will be healthy enough to play on Sunday. The message came right after Mayo called him a game-time decision after the 26-year-old missed the team's Wednesday and Thursday practice sessions.
“I'm feeling good right now,” Stevenson said, via ESPN's Mike Reiss. “I had to take a couple days off but I'm feeling like I should be ready to play on Sunday.”
Stevenson has not played since the Patriots' Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins. He carried the ball 12 times for 89 yards and a touchdown in that contest and avoided a fumble for the first game of the season. He sat out the following week with a foot injury.
In his Week 6 absence, veteran Antonio Gibson filled in with a spot start and was inefficient with his opportunities. Gibson recorded just 19 rushing yards on his 13 carries with a long of just seven yards against the Houston Texans. Rookie Drake Maye led the team in rushing in his first career start with 38 yards on five totes.
Patriots travel to London to take on Jaguars in Week 7
For the second straight week, the Jacksonville Jaguars will play in London as they welcome the Patriots in England. The Jaguars will be the away team by technicality but maintain the travel advantage over New England with the Patriots forced to make the trip midweek.
Whether Stevenson takes the field or not, the Patriots will likely look to attack the Jaguars through the air more than on the ground. Jacksonville's defense has been notoriously poor against the pass and New England is coming off its best passing game of the year in Week 6 when Maye took over for the struggling Jacoby Brissett.
In his first start, Maye threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns against the Texans in a 41-21 loss. He added two interceptions and a fumble but led the team to its highest-scoring performance of the young season despite falling to 1-5.
Jacksonville owns an identical 1-5 record that includes a 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jaguars' offense continued to struggle in the defeat, particularly on the ground, as Trevor Etienne picked up an injury early in the contest and D'Ernest Johnson led the way with just 28 rushing yards.
While still in London, the Week 7 Europe game will move to the Wembley Stadium.
