FOXBORO — There were Patriots fans and radio hosts who wanted to see running back Rhamondre Stevenson cut early in the 2025 season.

Head coach Mike Vrabel stood behind his veteran running back, and it paid dividends in Sunday’s playoff win over the Chargers.

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Stevenson led the Patriots in receiving with 75 yards on three catches. He also rushed 10 times for 53 yards against a Chargers run defense that had stonewalled teams throughout the season.

The fifth-year pro is on a tear to close out the 2025 season. Including Sunday’s win, he’s averaged over 7.8 yards per touch in each of his last five games.

So, what’s going so right?

“I couldn’t tell you. I’m just trying to stay disciplined, trying to stay in the places I need to be,” Stevenson said. “Just stay disciplined on my run reads, on where I need to be in the past game, things like that, and I’m just making some plays.”

Stevenson went through personal struggles this offseason when he lost his father in March. There were people calling for Stevenson’s job after he lost three fumbles in the Patriots’ first five games, which came after fumbling seven times last season.

Outside of quarterback Drake Maye, Stevenson has now been the Patriots’ best offensive player over the final quarter of the season. He’s playing the best football of his entire career.

Stevenson’s biggest play of the game was a 48-yard catch on a checkdown from Maye.

“It’s huge,” Maye said when asked about Stevenson’s ability to make plays in the passing game. “They always talk about catching, getting up field. He’s really consistent. …

“He’s so good at making the first guy miss. So valuable to have him on third down, be able to pass protect, catch it out of the backfield.”

Overall, the Patriots averaged five yards per rush, picking up 146 yards on 29 rushing attempts. Maye led the team with 66 yards on 10 attempts. The Patriots QB had five scrambles, three kneel downs and two designed runs. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson also picked up 27 yards on nine rushing attempts.

Vrabel said the Patriots’ performance on the ground was “good enough.”

“I thought we were close on a few,” Vrabel said. “Anytime that you can finish the game running the football against the Chargers and a defense like that, I think it’s very positive. Certainly we weren’t one-dimensional. We were able to run the football. We were able to get some yards on first down. I thought the backs ran hard. I thought they did a great job of taking care of the football. Drake, obviously if he gets the looks that are advantageous, he can take off and run, just like he did last week. He did the same thing this week.”

The Patriots offensive line had some issues protecting Maye but were also solid in the run game.

It was the first game since Week 12 that the Patriots’ entire offensive line played together. Left tackle Will Campbell missed four weeks with a knee injury, and left guard Jared Wilson missed time with an ankle injury and a concussion.

Campbell’s always happy to block for Stevenson.

“Oh, it’s awesome. There’s no better feeling for an O-lineman than watching your running backs play well, hit big runs, made guys miss,” Campbell said. “It’s just a really good feeling. And hats off to him. He works his tail off. He’s a great dude and a great player, and excited to do again next week.”

The Patriots’ playoff matchup isn’t set for next Sunday at Gillette Stadium yet. The Steelers and Texans face off Monday night at 8 p.m. ET. The winner advances to play the Patriots in the divisional round.