Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports Our offseason countdown continues with the fifth-best Patriots moment of 2023. Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone! The unofficial start of summer begins today. Long weekends, summer Fridays, beach houses, and making a complete fool of yourself at backyard barbecues. Hopefully everyone has something fun on the docket for this weekend as we all take some time to remember those who sacrificed everything for our freedom to do anything. Before I take off for the day, I wanted to begin the weekend on a high note with the No. 5 Best New England Patriots Moment of 2023. I’ve been excited for this one for a while now, as it’s an awesome play from one of my favorite current players. But first, the list so far: 10. The Patriots draft Christian Gonzalez.9. Jabrill Peppers truck-sticks Davante Adams to set up a Jahlani Tavai interception.
8. Christian Gonzalez wins Defensive Rookie of the Month.
7. Bailey Zappe connects with Hunter Henry on a 24-yard laser to open up the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
6. Pharaoh Brown scores his first NFL touchdown with a 58-yard catch and run against the New York Jets. At No. 5, we take some time to appreciate one of this team’s most steady producers as he hit a personal milestone. 5. Rhamondre Stevenson sets a personal record with a 64-yard TD run against the Washington Commanders. By the time the Commanders came to Foxboro on November 5th of last year, the vast majority of Patriots fans had resigned themselves to 2023 as a lost season. The team was sitting at 2-6 and hadn’t done much to impress anyone, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. However, New England had upset the Bills just a few weeks before, and hung tough down in Miami the previous Sunday, so maybe...just maybe...they could get a win against Washington, then another against Indy the following week before the bye, and start to get it all together at 4-6 as the home stretch of the season began. That obviously didn’t happen. But for a period in this game, we all thought that maybe it would. New England was able to take a 14-10 lead in the second quarter of this game courtesy of one of the team’s lone offensive bright spots. After forcing a three and out, the Patriots got the ball from their own 16 to their own 36 courtesy of a 20-yard Juju Smith-Schuster catch and run. At this point in the game, the offense was actually looking fairly balanced; Stevenson was running well, Mac Jones was accurate, and New England was moving the ball well - for them, at least. So when New England lined up in shotgun on 1st and 10 following the Juju catch, Washington found themselves unsure of what to best anticipate out of the package. They showed a 4-3 front with the linebackers close to the line and the secondary giving New England’s receivers a sizable cushion to prevent another chunk play. Jones handed the ball to Stevenson at the snap and he cut through an absolutely massive hole at the A-gap, exploding untouched into the second level. As he broke one tackle, Jalen Raegor got an incredible push on his defender, blowing the sideline wide open as Stevenson hit the second gear. He sprinted 64 yards, virtually untouched into the end zone. Not only did the TD run represent Stevenson’s longest rushing touchdown of his career. but this play was a perfect example of the complementary football we all got so used to. The defense forced a quick punt, the previous passing play put the opponent on their heels, Mondre got a phenomenal block up front from the O-line, made a guy miss on his own, utilized an excellent receiver block to find a lane, and turned on the burners for the score. It was exactly the kind of play you like to see, and as the Patriots took that 14-10 lead, 9-8 and maybe sneaking into the playoffs once again offered the fainted glow of possibility. Unfortunately, that TD was the last the Patriots would score that day as the Commanders eked out a 20-17 victory when Mac Jones was picked off at the Commanders 33 to ice the game, and 9-8 quickly fizzled into 2-7 as yet another winnable game became a loss through self-inflicted wounds. But for the briefest of moments, the Patriots were kinda, sorta, a little bit back. Plus, in a season almost completely devoid of offensive highlights, it was nice to see a big play like this one. Mondre has been a rare bright spot of consistent production ever since the team drafted him, so it’s only right that I give him some love on this list. A personal record, a nice run, and a score all give this play a spot here at Number 5. Check out the run here. Full game highlights here.
Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2024/5/24/24 ... commanders
