The New England Patriots have Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson on their roster. But to essentially seal their 26-19 win over the New York Jets, they leaned on ... Corey Kiner?
Yup, the second-year back led the Patriots with 57 yards — and ran the ball eight-straight times in what was a time consuming drive. The Patriots traded a 2028 seventh-round pick for the 24-year-old Kiner, who has been used sparingly to this point.
He had a fumble one week prior, but the team had enough faith in him to help drain the clock. And it worked.
"He runs hard. He runs hard, and it's the same way he's selling the kickoff returns," Mike Vrabel said postgame. "We got three capable backs and you ride the hot hand. So should we have not rode him? Okay, good. I just was curious."
The Patriots had been banged up up front, losing three of their starters along the offensive line. Still, Kiner was able to run between the tackles and continually pick up yardage. He didn't feel tired during his long stretch of carries and certainly couldn't remember that last time he ran that many times in a row.
"It feels great to be in that position in the game, to see the smiles on my teammates' faces and the smiles on my coaches' faces," Kiner said. "Knowing that they put me in and they can trust me, it just felt great. All the hard work that we've been putting in as a team and personally, it just feels great."
That drive would end with a Stevenson attempt on third down, but would be called just short. An Andy Borregales chip shot would put the lead to 29-13, a lead the Patriots would never relinquish.
Kiner Was Ready For His Opportunity
Kiner, despite his limited role up to this point, wasn't surprised that he was called on. Even though he had just 20 carries and 81 yards heading into the game, he knew he was ready for his time to shine.
"Coach (Tony) Dews has been preparing me well and keeping me ready for that moment, so I wasn't really surprised," he said.
The Patriots have had a revolving door at their third running back spot in recent years, and had a trio of free agents come to work out with them this week. If Kiner can keep up those type of drives (that draw a Clock Killin' Corey Dillon comparison), the Patriots will be just fine with Kiner this season.
Kiner also passed along the coaching staff's message before his key drive.
"Protect the team. Protect the ball. The team is the ball. Ball is the team," Kiner said.
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