FOXBORO — Rhamondre Stevenson bore the literal scars of his Patriots workload during Sunday’s postgame news conference.

A large white bandage covered much of his right arm. Two smaller ones dotted his left arm.

That’s what happens when you carry the ball 47 times over two weeks. The Patriots want — and, at this point, need — to be a run-first team, and Stevenson is the engine behind that effort.

That type of punishment likely is not sustainable, however. Stevenson is on pace to log a whopping 400 carries this season, which would nearly double his previous career high. Eventually, the Patriots will need to scale back his touches or risk riding their best offensive player into the ground.

Fortunately for New England, Stevenson’s new sidekick looked capable of shouldering some of that load on Sunday.

After a quiet Patriots debut in Week 1 (seven carries, 18 yards), Antonio Gibson delivered a breakout performance against the Seattle Seahawks, rushing 11 times for 96 yards in a 23-20 overtime loss.

It was the fifth-highest rushing total of Gibson’s career — he spent his first four pro seasons with Washington — and his highest since 2021. The former college receiver averaged 9.6 yards per carry and gained first downs on half of his 12 touches, including a pair of third-down conversions.

Stevenson added 81 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He fumbled once near the goal line, but the Patriots recovered.

“I feel like we work very well together,” Stevenson said. “AG had a couple good runs today. I’m proud of what he did today. But just pounding the rock, using our O-line and just staying on those tracks, I think we could get a lot of things done together.”

Gibson delivered the Patriots’ biggest play of the afternoon when he took a pitch from Jacoby Brissett, shrugged off a tackle in the backfield and outran four other would-be tacklers for a 45-yard gain down the left sideline.

The run set New England up at Seattle’s 25-yard line, up three with less than seven minutes remaining. But the Patriots squandered that golden opportunity to ice the game. Brissett took an ill-advised third-down sack two plays later, and Joey Slye’s ensuing 48-yard field goal was blocked. The Seahawks drove for a field goal and then kicked another in overtime to lock down the road victory.

“You get that big play and you get all the momentum, and now you’re going the opposite way,” Brissett lamented. “It’s in those critical situations we’ve got to find a way to — I think that was the moment in the game where it’s like, now we’ve got to put them away. They gave us the light, and we just didn’t take it this time. We’ve just got to find a better way to capitalize on those.”

The Patriots’ productive ground game stalled out late, with their last four carries (all by Stevenson) going for 2, 2, 2 and zero yards. And their passing attack was woefully imbalanced, with tight end Hunter Henry catching eight balls for a career-best 109 yards but New England’s five active wideouts combining for just three catches for 19 yards. Stevenson added two catches for 9 yards, and Gibson caught one for 7.

Brissett also faced frequent pressure and absorbed several hard hits behind an offensive line that’s struggled in pass protection.

Alex Van Pelt’s Patriots offense remains a work in progress two weeks into the season. But if Gibson can continue to perform the way he did Sunday, they should be able to play to their clear strengths without overburdening Stevenson.

“This is a tough football team,” head coach Jerod Mayo said. “No matter what’s said outside this building, and I told these guys that, as well. We’re a tough football team, not only physically but mentally. I appreciate their effort. It just wasn’t enough today.”