New England Patriots: Team Grades for AFC Championship Game
By Nick Ziegler
Special Teams:
It was a rather uneventful night on special teams for the Patriots, and there is nothing wrong with that. After returning a kickoff for a touchdown against the Texans, Lewis was only able to return one kickoff for 18 yards on Sunday.
Covering kicks wasn’t a problem for the Patriots in the win, as they held the Steelers to a 20.7 yards per return. With Antonio Brown returning punts, the Patriots did a very good job making sure he didn’t have a huge play that could have changed momentum in a flash. Ryan Allen was only asked to punt twice in the game. On those two punts, he averaged 48.5 yards per kick.
In the kicking game for the Patriots, Stephen Gostkowski was solid kicking field goals. Gostkowski was a perfect three-for-three on field goals with a 47-yard kick being his furthest. However, Gostkowski did miss one of his four extra point attempts.
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With a great offense and a solid defense, the Patriots don’t need to do anything crazy on special teams. As long as they protect the ball and don’t cost either side of the ball field position, they are doing their job. The solid performance against the Steelers has earned the Patriots’ special teams unit a solid grade for the AFC Championship.