FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When the New England Patriots visited the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 20, their lack of takeaways was a big storyline.
At the time, they had just nine. Balanced against eight giveaways, their plus-1 turnover differential ranked tied for 13th in the NFL, which was uncharacteristically low for them.
What a difference six games later.
The Patriots are tied for third in the NFL with a plus-10 differential, with 21 takeaways and 11 giveaways, the numbers bolstered after forcing four turnovers in Saturday’s 41-3 win over the New York Jets.