Here's the thing about moral victories: they don't matter when your running back limps off the field. Rhamondre Stevenson went down with a knee injury at 3:29 of the third quarter against Green Bay, and suddenly the narrative shifts. The Patriots can run their backup QB in blowouts all they want—Tommy DeVito played 12 snaps for the second time this season—but losing Stevenson is a genuine problem.
Let's be clear about what happened here. DeVito's limited snaps signal the game was decided, which is fine. The Packers presumably had control, the Patriots were done, and Mike Vrabel gave his third-stringer some work. Nothing wrong with that. But Stevenson's injury, even in garbage time, changes the immediate calculus at running back. Depending on severity, the Patriots could be looking at scrambling their backfield depth for upcoming weeks. That's not a mid-game adjustment—that's a roster crisis waiting to happen.
The other noise from the game: Kyle Williams was a non-factor. Forty-nine snaps, two targets, zero catches. That's the kind of stat line that sparks bigger questions about usage, scheme fit, and whether the Patriots are getting what they need from their receiving corps. One game doesn't doom anybody, but when you're on the field that much and you're not involved in the passing game, coordinators and fans alike start wondering why you're out there.
The immediate concern, though, is Stevenson. The Patriots can tinker with their receiver rotation and trust their depth at receiver—the roster has options. But a starting running back going down in Week 10 is different. Vrabel and Eliot Wolf need answers fast on his status and on contingency plans. Everything else from this game is secondary until we know what we're working with in the backfield.