CINCINNATI — Rhamondre Stevenson took over Sunday’s 16-10 win over the Bengals, but the Patriots running back still had some football left in his 6-foot, 227-pound frame.

Stevenson was asked if he was tired when he stepped up to the podium after Sunday’s win.

“Not really. I got another quarter in me,” Stevenson said, flashing a smile.

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No individual on the Patriots’ roster was more impactful than Stevenson, who carried the ball 25 times for 120 yards with a touchdown, on Sunday.

And there was no one happier to see Stevenson excel than his head coach, Jerod Mayo.

“I challenged Rhamondre in the spring,” Mayo said after the win. “I said, ‘Look, you don’t get a lot of love, a lot of hype,’ but I’ve always believed that he’s one of the best running backs in the league, and when we signed him to the extension, there was no one more happy than me, because I know what he’s capable of. He showed that today. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, he can run, break tackles and do all of those things. He’s a great player.”

Mayo’s confidence in Stevenson paid off on Sunday. The running back also caught three passes for 6 yards and out-touched backup running back Antonio Gibson 28 to 7.

Stevenson and the Patriots’ offensive line wore down the Bengals’ defense and finished strong. The Patriots forced the Bengals to punt with 2:26 left in the game. Stevenson drained the clock with four carries, 26 yards and two first downs.

The Patriots have said all offseason that they know they’ll have to run the ball well to have success. That was one of Mayo’s messages to Stevenson in the spring.

“He was just telling me we’re going to run the ball,” he said. “We’ve got to be a force in the run game. And he believes in me and just get the ball downhill, get first downs and keep our offense on the field.”

The Patriots did just that, winning the time of possession battle 34:03 to 25:57 in their win over the Bengals.