FOXBORO — Believe it or not, Patriots running back Dion Lewis’ list of priorities on a given play don’t begin with breaking an opponent’s ankles or making someone look foolish.

Yes, those things still tend to happen when Lewis gets the ball, but his objective has been far simpler: Maintain possession.

“Just putting more emphasis on it, making that the most important thing when I have the ball in my hands, making sure I give it to the ref after every play,” Lewis said.

Lewis’ cult-hero status has blown the roof off Gillette Stadium this season. His teammates have nicknamed him “The Human Joystick” for his real-life video-game moves on the gridiron, and he has become one of the team’s feel-good stories along the way.

But for Lewis to capture this level of success, he had to shake the pair of fumbles that were a slight concern in the first two weeks of the season. He hasn’t put the ball on the ground since.

“We do ball-security drills every day,” Lewis said. “When it’s time for that, my antennas go up, and I make sure I’m doing all the things I’m supposed to do.”

That’s important because, as Kevin Faulk and Stevan Ridley can attest, when a Patriot develops a penchant for fumbling, Bill Belichick orders the defense to attack him with a far greater voracity during practice. Lewis has passed those tests.

Interestingly, Lewis’ playing time never diminished after his first two fumbles. He was subbed out for three plays against the Steelers because the Patriots used a goal-line package, which he wasn’t part of anyway, before getting the very next carry when the standard offensive grouping returned to the field for the ensuing series. And he was on the field with the offense for the next series after losing a fumble against the Bills. Heck, a week and a half later, Belichick gave him a contract extension.

Maybe Belichick would have been less forgiving if Lewis got a third strike, or if Lewis didn’t prove to be such an indispensable part of the offense in the early going. But Lewis didn’t want to test him, and the fumbles have ceased.

“That’s the most important part of the game, ball security,” Lewis said. “When you don’t turn the ball over, your chance of winning goes up tremendously. I’m trying to make sure I’m accountable when it comes to that.”

Trap . . . month?

Here’s a new one. The Patriots were asked about a “trap month” yesterday, you know, just in case they were looking ahead to their Week 12 showdown against the Broncos.

“I mean, we can’t worry about the Broncos and then go out and play the Redskins,” running back LeGarrette Blount said. “We’ve just got to go out there and focus on who we got to play this Sunday. Whenever the Broncos come up, they come up. We’ve got to focus on playing these guys.”

Obviously, there’s a distinct danger of the hype machine blowing a gasket if Tom Brady and Peyton Manning both carry their teams into the Nov. 29 game with 10-0 records. But what do you expect the Patriots to say?

“You guys are the ones who bring up the weeks away,” Blount said. “We stay focused on the task at hand, which is the Washington Redskins this week. That’s what we are taught. That’s instilled in us the whole time we are here, and eventually, it’s just kind of habit.”

Absent observations

Safety Duron Harmon was excused from practice due to the birth of his son. It was his first absence from practice in three years with the Patriots, including training camp, the regular season and playoffs.

Defensive end Jabaal Sheard, who hasn’t practiced since injuring his ankle against the Colts in Week 6, strolled through the locker room for the first time since the injury. He wasn’t wearing any protection on the ankle, nor did he walk with a noticeable limp.