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Sep 21, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) fumbles the ball during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Patriots OC Doesn't Point Fingers Amid Turnover Issues

Originally posted on New England Patriots on SI
By Ethan Hurwitz | Last updated Sep 27, 2025 9:00 AM ET

After turning the ball over five times in a game for the first time since 2008, the New England Patriots are hoping to turn over a new leaf when the Carolina Panthers come to town. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels says it all starts on the practice field.

"Create habits, and I think we’ve worked a lot at that. Some games, things like that happen. And you just shake your head, go back to work, and try to create the techniques and fundamentals that you need to protect the ball," McDaniels said. "Ball security is usually a result of technique or decisions, or a great play by a defensive player. So obviously, we studied what happened, and hopefully we can learn the lesson, a hard lesson, and try to improve that aspect of our offense, because it’s difficult to win when we turn the ball over like that."

It was a winnable game by every stretch of the imagination for the Patriots last week. The team gave the ball away twice inside the Steelers' two-yard line, and the running back pair of Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson fumbled the ball three times in the 21-14 loss.

Despite the issues that have plagued Stevenson throughout his career, McDaniels hasn't lost faith on the former 1,000 yard rusher.

"I’ve always had a lot of confidence in Rhamondre," McDaniels said. "I was here when we drafted him, and I think he cares a lot about doing the right things. I have confidence in all our players, because I see what they do to prepare and try to work hard to help us win. That hasn’t changed, and we’ll continue to coach and do our job, which is to focus on improving some of the things that we don’t do as well as we would like and see if we can’t eliminate those mistakes."

McDaniels isn't letting the rest of the offense off the hook. Instead, he shared the same sentiment that veteran offensive tackle Morgan Moses said in the locker room postgame: Turnovers are all based on how the entire offensive unit operates.

"Ball security is not just an individual statistic. We don’t go around placing blame but it’s all 11 guys protecting the guy with the ball and, obviously, the guy that has the ball has all of our fortune in his hands," McDaniels said. "We've got to do a good job of protecting the runners, protecting the quarterback, and the guys that have (the ball) have to do a good job of making good decisions and covering it up when there is any kind of issue or traffic. It’s a hard lesson. You don’t like to learn it this way but it can be a value if we learn it and do it better going forward."

And it wasn't just the running backs that gave it away. With a chance to lead the Patriots on a lead-taking drive, quarterback Drake Maye stepped up in the pocket after not finding a target and had it stripped away from his hands. The Steelers eventually went down the field and won the game on a touchdown.

“It’s a process. I think he’s done a really good job most of the year of trying to do that the right way,” McDaniels said. “There aren’t going to be 15 plays in the game like that, but there are probably going to be a couple. It’s just the nature of the NFL. When you get forced into one of those situations, you’ve got to first have that feeling like this isn’t exactly what I was hoping for in this play. And when you realize it’s happening, then it’s time to make a choice."

This article first appeared on New England Patriots on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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