FOXBOROUGH, Mass – For Demario Douglas, Sunday's loss was a little tougher for him.

In the first quarter, he made a costly mistake. Douglas hauled in a pass from Mac Jones and tried to cut across the field, but Bradley Chubb came up from behind him, knocking the ball loose. And it was the Miami Dolphins who recovered the fumble. 

"When I turned to go to the right, I seen the end zone and kind of got excited and forgot about people that come in from behind," Douglas told reporters after the game. "And just pulled my arm and I let the ball go."

However, the most notable thing that came from Douglas' fumble was that was the rookie receiver's final offensive snap of the night. 

"For me it was good. I felt like this definitely helped me," Douglas said. "For me, I just need to make sure my awareness is high." 

"I needed this, right here. Needed this," Douglas added. "I hate that it happened in the game, but it's what I needed. I know to be more aware now." 

Following the play, many of Douglas' teammates came up to him, showing their support. And that meant a lot to the young receiver. 

"Yeah, that's love," Douglas said. "Just the Vets coming, telling me, you know, play the next play. It's all gonna be good. That was definitely comforting."

Kendrick Bourne, who is one of the veteran receivers on the team was also asked about the fumble after the game, and explained how he was there for Douglas. 

"I don't really like to talk about nothing, I just tell him like you made a great cut, unfortunate situation," Bourne said. "I didn't really say nothing. Just like, great play. Keep trying to be aggressive… Keep playing. Don't think about it."

While this was a humbling experience for Douglas, he didn't let it get him down. Instead, he viewed it as a learning opportunity. 

And the main lesson: ball security. 

"It's the number on thing," Douglas said. "And I already know that, like, that's why I had the mindset, I just got to come back next week." 

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Here is everything head coach Bill Belichick said when asked about the decision to bench Douglas for the remainder of the game: 

Q: Bill, what went into the decision to keep Demario Douglas off the field after his first quarter fumble?

BB: Yeah, we played all of our skill players. They all played.

Q: I don't think we saw him take another offensive snap after that play.

BB: Look, we had a lot of production on offense. [DeVante] Parker had a good day. [Mike] Gesicki had a good day. Hunter [Henry] had a good day, JuJu [Smith-Schuster], KB [Kendrick Bourne]. So, you know, a lot of good players. Can't play everybody.

Q: Bill, was the plan to not use Demario Douglas after the first half on offense?

BB: He returned punts.

Q: Well, on offense –

BB: We played all of our – yeah, look, we could talk about this every week. And there will be somebody that played less than somebody else. We’ve got a lot of skilled players.

Q: That seemed real – he didn’t get on offense after the fumble, though.

BB: Yeah, okay.

Featured Image via Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports