After scoring two touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson added three more against the New York Jets. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
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While there is no shortcut to the end zone, the distance hasn’t looked too far for TreVeyon Henderson.
The rookie running back scored five touchdowns in a span of four days for the New England Patriots.
After breakaway scores from 55 and 69 yards out against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday afternoon, he got a hat-trick against the New York Jets on Thursday night.
“I think it’s a journey. The NFL comes with a lot of highs and lows,” Henderson told reporters during his press conference following the 27-14 win in Foxborough. “So, I think the biggest thing is preparation going into the week. And with the reps that we have, just trying my best to take advantage of them. Continuing to try and grow and get better as a player.”
The evening’s initial drive was capped off with a pitch, a spin and a push behind a sea of blockers that included left tackle Will Campbell, left guard Jared Wilson and tight end Hunter Henry. The legs kept moving. The pile did, too.
The next drive ended the same way from seven yards away with the help of pulling right guard Mike Onwenu. What was started was finished en route to 14 unanswered points.
“It feels good,” added Henderson. “It lets you know that your teammates, they care, and they’re out there fighting. I really thank those guys for fighting and just going the extra mile. It really does mean a lot.”
A third touchdown was on the horizon after halftime in Foxborough. It wound up in the hands of the same player as the previous. Henderson leaked out from the backfield and into the back of the end zone for a catch and a 21-7 lead over the AFC East visitors.
“Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke,” Patriots quarterback Drake Maye told reporters after the win streak extended to eight games. “I think just him stepping up. I think it was a big time for him stepping up, and it’s been great for him to get all these reps, to keep getting these reps. He wants to be great. Just showing up every day and asking questions.”
Last weekend at Raymond James Stadium, according to the NFL, Henderson became the fourth rookie to record multiple 50-yard rushing touchdowns in a single game in league history, joining Doug Martin in 2012, Adrian Peterson in 2007 and Lenny Moore in 1956.
Henderson, who turned 23 in October, reached additional milestones by Thursday at Gillette Stadium.
The Ohio State product became the youngest running back in Patriots history to score three touchdowns in a game, eclipsing Curtis Martin, who twice did so in 1996. Per New England, he also joined tight end Rob Gronkowski, wide receiver Randy Moss and running back Sam Cunningham as the only players to record at least 200 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns in any two-game span for the franchise dating back to 1970.
Henderson handled a career-high 24 touches for 93 scrimmage yards versus New York after turning 15 touches into a career-high 150 scrimmage yards versus Tampa Bay. He often had nose tackle Khyiris Tonga reporting at fullback and sixth offensive lineman Ben Brown reporting at tight end.
With incumbent starting rusher Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined for a third game due to a toe injury, the No. 38 overall pick in the 2025 draft class served as the bellcow. New England’s ground game was rounded out by veteran standard elevation D’Ernest Johnson, while Terrell Jennings was active but did not play due to a knee injury that left him questionable.
Some of the strongest runs did not result in points. Per Next Gen Stats, Henderson gained more rushing yards after contact than total rushing yards as the Patriots climbed to 9-2 on the year against the 2-8 Jets.
With vision, acceleration and contact balance, nine missed tackles were forced in all.
“I would say the best couple of runs he had were there late in the game when it was tough sledding, and we’re in five-minute, and they know we’re going to run, and they’re blitzing and everything else,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said during his postgame press conference. “Looked like we were going to be short, and he’s able to knife through there and keep his pads down and pick up a huge first down.
“He’s executed, whether that’s a checkdown or the touchdown in the back of the end zone. No home runs tonight, but I thought he grinded out pretty much what was there.”
New England’s offense totaled 128 snaps in less than a week’s time. Henderson was on the field for 110 of them.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverthomas/2025/11/14/patriots-rookie-treveyon-henderson-turns-short-week-into-five-touchdowns/
