The New England Patriots have been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, as they own the league's best record at 9-2 and have won eight games in a row.

Drake Maye is having an MVP-caliber campaign, the pass-catchers have been a heck of a lot better than most expected and the defense has been elite.

But are the Patriots truly ready to take that next step into becoming Super Bowl contenders?

Chad Graff of The Athletic has revealed some red flags for New England with the playoffs right around the corner, and one of his biggest concerns is the Pats' rushing attack.

"Yes, the Patriots have been a little bit better here in recent weeks after opening the season with the league’s worst running game. However, the problem is that the brief improvement of late has come via home-run plays (think TreVeyon Henderson’s long rushes), not from getting consistently better output with each carry," Graff wrote.

New England selected Henderson in the second round of the NFL Draft last April, and while he has rushed for 492 yards and five touchdowns on 4.9 yards per carry, his week-to-week consistency has not been great, and Rhamondre Stevenson has provided very little support.

"Even over the last four weeks, when the running game improved, New England ranks 27th in rushing success rate, compared to 31st in the first seven weeks," Graff added.

Stevenson has missed the last three games due to a toe injury, but when he has been on the field in 2025, he has not been effective, having registered 279 yards and three scores while averaging a meager 3.4 yards per attempt. He struggled in 2024, as well.

Luckily, Maye is a terrific runner himself, but he has not been quite as efficient as last year, as his yards per carry averaged has dipped from 7.8 to 4.1.

But perhaps there is a potential solution.

"Here’s the optimistic view, though: When Rhamondre Stevenson is healthy, he should help boost the success rate with more consistency. And the Pats may have found something from Henderson in explosive carries to the outside," Graff wrote.

A better ground game would make Maye even more dangerous through the air, and it would further augment what has already been a top-10 offense in all of football.

Whether or not it actually manifests, however, remains to be seen.