FOXBORO — Rhamondre Stevenson couldn’t explain it.

But after four straight games with a fumble, it didn’t matter.

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Stevenson’s 33-yard touchdown run was a thing of beauty in an otherwise hideous 15-10 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. He finished without a fumble for the first time this season, plus a team-high rushing 89 yards on 12 carries and four catches. Due to his fumbling woes, Stevenson was benched to start the game, but scored on the Patriots’ second drive of the game to give them an early 7-3 lead.

“I got outside, and I don’t remember exactly how it happened,” Stevenson said of the 33-yard touchdown around the right end. “I need to watch the film, but (I) got outside, the receivers were over there blocking … and I just ran off the cornerback and saw the end zone and had to get to it.”

The Patriots averaged 7.9 yards per carry against Miami, a new franchise record. Backup Antonio Gibson, who started Sunday, added six rushes for 52 yards. One driving factor behind their shared success was the offense’s ability to establish its base outside zone play, off of which the Patriots throw many play-action passes.

“The outside zone is not an easy play to run, especially for the guys up front,” Stevenson said. “So the more reps they get at, the better we should be at it.”

Stevenson scored his touchdown running right behind outside zone blocking, while Gibson hit a 24-yard run, his longest of the day, going left off outside zone. Both backs broke through despite the Patriots completely overhauling their starting offensive line. Among other moves, right tackle Mike Onwenu moved inside to right guard, and second-year lineman Demontrey Jacobs replaced him despite never having played an NFL snap at right tackle before.

In the backfield, Stevenson and Gibson split offensive playing time almost evenly, though Stevenson dominated playing time in the middle quarters. In the fourth quarter, he went down with an apparent left leg/ankle injury, and he later returned for one play on the Pats’ penultimate series. Stevenson said he does not expect to miss any time moving forward due to the injury.