Patriots Turnovers Among NFL's Worst After 2 More vs. Jets

During Sunday's 26-19 win against the New York Jets, the New England Patriots fumbled twice, bringing their season total to 13 turnovers, the second most in the NFL — trailing only the 0-6 Los Angeles Chargers with 15.

On Monday morning, head coach Mike Vrabel said, "We turn the ball over at an historic rate, it's ridiculous." He added that the Pats' turnover tendencies are "embarrassing."

With six total fumbles lost on the season, the Patriots' are tied for third with the most fumbles lost by any NFL team this season.

Yesterday's turnovers came on a pair of positive plays. The first, came on what would have been a seven-yard gain for TreVeyon Henderson. But as he was falling to the ground, rookie sensation David Bailey ripped the ball from his grasp, giving the Jets generous field position in the third quarter.

The second giveaway happened 49 yards away from the line of scrimmage. After Drake Maye found DeMario "Pop" Douglas downfield, Douglas made a couple of shifty moves to continue his run after the catch. He was caught from behind by linebacker Jamien Sherwood, who put his fist on the ball and forced a turnover, which gave the Jets an opportunity to bring the game back to a one-score contest.

In the locker room after the game, Douglas said, "I'm sick, I can't lie. That [fumble is] gonna haunt me."

He went on to say that he's only going to think about his turnover for the day before he "flips the page" and moves on to prepping for Chicago on Thursday night. He also stated, "I try to do too much."

The Patriots third fumble of the game came unconventially, as it occured during the Jets onside kick attempt. Wide receiver A.J. Brown, making his first on-field appearance since going down with an ankle injury in Week 1, attempted to recover the onside kick, but it slipped through his hands. Luckily, Douglas was able to fall on the ball and secure the win for the Pats.

Entering Sunday's Week 6 divisonal match, the Jets defense had forced 10 fumbles on the year, which ranks second of all NFL defenses. Knowing this statistic, the Patriots staff emphasized ball security before Sunday's game.

Despite the intentional effort to reverse the narrative that their offensive turnovers are easy to capitalize on, New England still put the ball on the ground three times, and had it taken twice.

New England was able to force one turnover on the Jets offense, intercepting Geno Smith in the fourth quarter. Charles Woods' first career interception was also the first Smith has thrown all season.

In losing the turnover battle on Sunday, the Patriots plus-minus turnover differential falls to a staggering -6 on the season, the third worst turnover margin in the NFL.

Vrabel and the offense will look to correct turnover issues as they enter Week 6 play against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.

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