Washington Commanders

Jay Gruden confident Matt Jones can fix fumbling issue

Published Nov. 24, 2015 7:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

Washington Redskins rookie running back Matt Jones lost another fumble in the team's Week 11 loss while trying to fight for extra yardage. Jones has an issue with ball security, but Redskins head coach Jay Gruden is confident he can fix his issues fast.

“It’s just a matter of him continuing to focus more on the ball pre-contact, also when there is contact, Gruden said to reporters, per ESPN.

“He’s got to understand as a running back in the National Football League, once you have this M.O. [modus operandi], the only way to shake it is to protect the ball,” Gruden said.” If you don’t protect the ball, then you won’t be a running back in the NFL for very long. We have total faith in him that he’s going to fix this but he has to himself make sure he understands the importance of the ball. All running backs do.”

After his fumble, Gruden removed Jones from the game in spite of the fact that he was already down starter Alfred Morris. Jones would later re-enter the game.

Morris plans to play in Week 12 through his knee injury, but the Redskins are counting on Jones to play a big role in the run game and the screen game. The only way he'll be able to accomplish that is if he can eliminate the fumbles.