After Demario Douglas’s benching, Hunter Henry recalls a costly rookie fumble of his own

Patriots

“I’m looking at the next guy, and not thinking about what’s going on, and the ball gets poked out from behind. I actually lost the game for our team.”

Hunter Henry knows what it’s like to fumble in a key situation during a rookie season.

So, when he spoke to Demario Douglas on Monday, he had a story to share. The Patriots benched Douglas after a first-quarter fumble halted a promising drive against the Dolphins on Sunday.

Henry recalled starting in place of an injured Antonio Gates during the third week of his first year with the Chargers. Henry’s fumble, which came late in the fourth quarter, cost the Chargers the game, Henry said.

“I had a pretty good game, we were playing the Indianapolis Colts and we had a two-minute drive,” Henry said. “We’re down maybe two. All we needed was a field goal. I run a really good route. There’s about a minute left in the game, I catch the ball, and I kind of get into an open field. I made the first guy miss, and I’m looking at the next guy, and not thinking about what’s going on, and the ball gets poked out from behind. I actually lost the game for our team.”

While Douglas’s fumble happened towards the beginning of the game, the circumstances were somewhat similar to Henry’s fumble. Douglas caught the ball on third-and-8 and juked past a defender. But, Miami’s Bradley Chubb sprinted from behind and knocked the ball out.

Douglas said after the game that he needed the experience of having the ball knocked out from behind to learn from. Henry said that his fumble against the Colts helped him mature into the veteran player he is today.

“It really woke me up to this level and humbled me a lot,” Henry said. “I learned a lot. I realized that I needed to hold onto the ball a little bit tighter. I kind of conveyed that to him. I’m going on my eighth year now and I think I’ve only had like one career fumble in eight years in the league.”

Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said that Douglas will learn from the mistake and that New England likes having Douglas on the field.

Henry echoed those comments on Wednesday.

“Pop is a great player. We need him,” Henry said. “He’s going to learn from this, he’s going to learn a lot from it. He’s done a lot of great things for us.”