New England Patriots win big in Week 3: 10 things we liked

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

6. More shifty play out of Dion Lewis

When the Patriots signed Lewis to a reserve/future contract on New Years Eve this past winter, no one really blinked an eye. Lewis had bounced around the NFL with stints in Philly, Cleveland and Indy. It wasn’t exactly expected that the Pitt product would land on his feet in New England.

But through three games, Lewis has been the Patriots’ most productive running back. Yesterday, Lewis slipped in-between tacklers for 37 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. He also assisted in the passing game, catching five passes for 30 yards.

The ascendance of Lewis is making Patriots fans forget about Shane Vereen. His presence adds another layer to the offensive attack.

4. Stephen Gostkowski’s kicking

En route to a stat line of three-of-three field goals and six flawless extra points, Gostkowski did something remarkable. He set a record that will likely never be broken.

When Gostkowski nailed that 423^rd extra point in a row in Week 3, he shoved aside Matt Stover and became the holder of an all-time record: consecutive successful extra points. Now that the NFL has lengthened the extra point length by a considerable amount, extra point percentage will drop. The chances of a kicker drilling over four hundred 33-yard attempts in a row is hard to imagine these days.

In other words, Gostkowski has most likely etched his name into NFL history. The Patriots’ twitter people knew that when they posted this:

Next: 4. 400 TD club for TB12, 3. Just 50 rushing yards allowed