FOXBORO — Through 12 games, this year’s Patriots have 18 interceptions. That bodes well for New England: Dating back to the start of the decade, any Patriots team that has finished with at least 19 interceptions has gotten at least as far as the AFC Championship Game, and three of those teams have come away with Super Bowl titles.

This season, New England leads the AFC in takeaways with plus-14, and are tied for the lead in the AFC with 18 interceptions. Rookie cornerback Devin McCourty leads the team with six, while veteran safety James Sanders has three. (Both picked off Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez once on Monday night.) In addition, Rob Ninkovich, Brandon Meriweather and Patrick Chung have two interceptions each.

Winning the turnover battle is usually a good indicator as to how New England will do — in their 10 wins, the Patriots are plus-19 in the turnover battle; in their two losses, they are minus-5. And the takeaways have come at big times — Meriweather has a key interception down the stretch to secure a win over Buffalo, while Sanders’ late pick of Peyton Manning allowed New England to come away with a big win over Indianapolis. And McCourty interceptions against Detroit and New York set the tone for Patriots’ wins.

As a group, they are on track to finish with the second-most interceptions and second-best takeaway total of any team since Bill Belichick took over the Patriots prior to the 2000 season. (By way of comparison, last season, New England was plus-six overall in takeaways, and finished the year with 18 picks — Brandon Meriweather and Leigh Bodden tied for the team lead with five each.)

(While it is possible, it seems unlikely that with four games left they will beat the mark set by the 2003 team, which was plus-17 in the takeaway department with a remarkable 29 interceptions — Ty Law and Tyrone Poole each finished with six picks that season.)

As for the difference between this season and the last couple of years, McCourty’s presence has been a massive upgrade. His physical presence, unique ball skills and attention to film study have made him one of the best young cornerbacks the Patriots have had in some time. After Monday’s game, defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said McCourty was “probably playing the best in the league at his position. Hands down.”

“I put him up against any corner you throw at me,” added Wilfork. “He is a helluva football player, and he’s going to get better and better.”

“He doesn’t seem like a rookie. He’s real intelligent, works hard,” Sanders said of McCourty. “You would think he’s a five-year vet. He going out there and making plays and he’s playing like a veteran. We need him to step up big for us this week like he’s done in the past couple of weeks.

“He’s a real intelligent guy. He picks up a lot of real subtle things on film and as you see when you goes on the field, he continues to rely on his work in film study, and he goes out there and makes big plays for us.”

That includes five interceptions in the last two games as a team, including three of Sanchez in Monday’s win over the Jets.

“There’s a mindset. Ballhawking. They want the ball. It’s everything. It’s not just one thing, it’s everything. We’ve been able to make some plays,” Wilfork added. “James [Sanders], [Brandon] Meriweather. Everybody defensively has been doing their part.”

According to Sanders, that starts in practice with footballs being fired at the defensive backs out of the JUGS gun. There are turning and backpedaling drills, as well as time spent just throwing the football at each other.

But it’s not just interceptions. There’s forcing fumbles — the Patriots have forced five this season. (Ninkovich leads the team with two of them, good for seventh-best in the league.) Through film study, the defensive players are able to target opposing players who might be a little bit reckless when it comes to carrying the ball.

“We’re taught in practice just to get the ball back as much as possible for us offense,” he said. “Situationally, when the ball presents itself for us to be opportunistic and make turnovers, we definitely have to capitalize on those and help our team put points on the board.

“At the very beginning of practice, we work on tackling, we work on stripping the ball, getting the ball out, knocking balls down, interceptions. We constantly focus on that every day in practice. And it’s leading to us making plays on the field. And that’s ultimately what you want to do as a defense is get the ball back to the offense.”