New England Patriots: 3 interesting storylines to watch Week 2

New England Patriots storyline No. 2: Will Damien Harris find himself in Bill Belichick’s doghouse?

It’s been widely acknowledged that Damien Harris‘ untimely fumble cost the Patriots a chance to beat the Dolphins. While this is true in a sense, there were multiple other issues that contributed to the loss, which is something that has been acknowledged by multiple people on the team.

Head coach Bill Belichick has been known to throw running backs in the proverbial “doghouse” if they fumble the football, which basically means they sit out the rest of the game. Rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson found that out the hard way after he fumbled on just his second touch of the game, which is why he only played five snaps in this one.

But the Patriots didn’t get the ball back after Harris fumbled, so it’s unknown how Belichick would have handled his top running back coughing up the ball. That has led some to wonder whether Harris’ role will be scaled back in the upcoming game as a result of his late game mishap against Miami.

How Belichick ends up handling this situation is definitely worth watching this week. Belichick has become notorious for his hate of fumbles, and when someone fumbles, they usually pay for it. It wouldn’t be surprising if Harris ends up paying the same price.

However, Harris will most likely not see his workload be affected too much by this mistake. Aside from the fumble, Harris had a solid game (23 CAR, 100 YDS), and with Stevenson dealing with fumble issues behind him, there isn’t really a solid option behind him to take many carries away from him. Either way, Harris’ status bears watching this upcoming week, and it could have a direct impact on the Patriots offensive gameplan.