The Patriots came into Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers and emerged victorious, 28-23. It was a huge win for New England and Drake Maye’s MVP case, but more than anything, the game served as TreVeyon Henderson’s breakout.
The Patriots’ second-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft was pushed into action as the starter for the second week in a row with Rhamondre Stevenson battling an injury. While he struggled last week against the Falcons, Henderson exploded against the Bucs, finishing with 14 carries for 147 yards and a pair of long touchdown runs. The second touchdown iced the win for the Patriots and created quite a viral moment.
New England was trying to run out the clock after the two-minute warning and handed the ball to Henderson at the 31-yard line. He bounced outside and raced out in front of multiple Tampa Bay defenders to gain the first down. Then Henderson found himself with open grass and no defenders between himself and the end zone, at which point the rookie running back can clearly be seen looking at the Pats’ sideline, appearing to silently ask coach Mike Vrabel mid-play if he should score or go down. Whatever Henderson saw indicated he should keep going, and he jogged in for the touchdown.
Here’s the big run:
TREVEYON TO THE HOUSE pic.twitter.com/5ViNKhlocP
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 9, 2025
And here’s a camera angle that better shows him checking in with the sideline:
TreVeyon Henderson wasn't sure if he should score or not 😂 pic.twitter.com/iahEytAGuf
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 9, 2025
Fans loved the heady move from the rookie and enjoyed how funny it was to see him do it in the midst of a play.
Henderson asking permission to score is laugh out loud funny
— Céad Míle Fáilte (@ColeyMick) November 9, 2025
TreVeyon Henderson’s so fast he had time to stall and ask Vrabel if he should score or not🤣
— Zero Gravity (@zgsportsmedia) November 9, 2025
pic.twitter.com/ni38U1k17N
Henderson looking to the sideline 20 yards out to see if he should score or not shows how smart and aware he is. Impressive
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 9, 2025
absolutely dying at TreVeyon Henderson, at the end of his 69-yard touchdown run, basically having a silent conversation with Mike Vrabel over whether or not he should score or kneel it out
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 9, 2025
"ok. touchdown? over there? yep, yep, got it." pic.twitter.com/WdOEgxOq30
Henderson just looked at Coach Vrabel to ask if he should score during a run. I love this team.
— Neighborhood Hov. (@ForgotAboutJay_) November 9, 2025
Henderson closing out games like Dash https://t.co/7MxPUrJNn0 pic.twitter.com/YklzUIXLHe
— Daggett Morse (@LaxCoachDaggs) November 9, 2025
Best part was Henderson mid-run looking to Vrabel for direction on whether to get down/run clock or go ahead and score. pic.twitter.com/TpbNicBtmI
— Mark Dondero (@MarkDondero) November 9, 2025
dude had time to slow down, communicate to the sideline, AND ramp up again to score https://t.co/vlBVi8rEAH
— Hunter (@hunter_binks) November 9, 2025
The fact Henderson had enough time to slow up look back and get the green light is INSANE 😭🤣 https://t.co/arwBiEaIZi
— Greg 🫡 (@DB4L15) November 9, 2025
If Henderson had gone down sometime after getting the first down, the Bucs still had two timeouts, so it wasn’t an automatic game over. It would have been nearly impossible for Tampa Bay to come back anyway, but it would have resulted in at least three more offensive plays for New England, and anything can happen then. Instead, Henderson scored to give the Pats a 28-16 lead, which wound up the difference; Baker Mayfield led his team to a touchdown with 33 seconds left to bring the deficit back to five.
Their only recourse at that point was an onside kick. The Patriots recovered, and the game was over. A great day for the rookie running back and a funny moment in the midst of New England’s resurgent season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fans Loved TreyVeon Henderson’s Smart Move in Middle of Long TD Run to Ice Patriots’ Win .
