Patriots Newcomer Bright Spot In Overtime Loss To Seahawks

Rhamondre Stevenson had another nice day Sunday after powering the Patriots to a season-opening win, but New England's bell cow wasn't the team's leading rusher in Week 2.

That designation belonged to Antonio Gibson, who paced all rushers with 96 yards on the ground at Gillette Stadium. The dual-threat back was responsible for what could have been a game-sealing play: a 45-yard scamper to Seattle's 25-yard line when New England owned a three-point lead with roughly seven minutes to play. Unfortunately for Gibson and the Patriots, they couldn't put the game on ice and the Seahawks went on to notch a 23-20 overtime victory.

Nonetheless, Gibson's outing was very encouraging for a New England team that will lean on the ground game until further notice. The 26-year-old took some pressure off Stevenson and made the most of his opportunities, averaging nearly 9 yards per rush. It obviously would be unfair to expect Gibson to approach 100 rushing yards every week, but early signs indicate he will be a productive No. 2 in the Patriots backfield.

To no surprise, Gibson was one of the "studs" NESN.com's Sean McGuire highlighted with George Balekji on the latest episode of "Foxboro Rush." The pair praised two other productive players from Sunday's game but also lamented three New England "duds" in its first loss of the young season.

You can check out the segment in the YouTube video embedded above, while the full episode will be available in the link here.