New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson, as these things tend to go, isn’t on the same page as the officials when it comes to his back-breaking fumble Sunday against the New England Patriots.
Johnson reeled in a pass from Spencer Rattler with under nine minutes to go in the fourth and made a couple of steps past the first down marker before Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss managed to reach in and punch the ball loose. The call required a review before ultimately ruling that Johnson had fumbled.
“It is what it is. I thought that I had it, but I didn’t. The refs officiated and said it’s a fumble, so it’s a fumble,” Johnson said after the game, via a team-provided transcript. “The only thing that I can do is go into this week and focus on holding the ball properly. I feel like I should’ve went in holding it a little tighter going in with two hands and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now, but that’s what it is.
“If there is something that I need to improve on and something that I need to work on, that is my intention for this week, carrying the ball like this organization depends on it, because it does, and go forward.”
Saints head coach Kellen Moore didn’t have a ton to offer from his end.
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“You guys can ask Replay Assist or New York for all of that stuff, whatever their media deal is,” Moore said. “We just were told there was some movement on the ball, and that’s all I get.”
The Patriots ultimately won 25-19 to climb to 4-2, while the Saints fell to 1-5 with the loss.
