His New England Patriots teammates call him “The Gun Show.”
And Patriots wide receiver/punt returner Gunner Olszewski put on a show Sunday in New England’s 45-0 shutout win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Laugh if you want, but Olszewski has been one of the most explosive players in the NFL over the last two weeks.
The 2019 undrafted free agent out of Division II Bemidji State who converted from cornerback to wideout in the NFL last offseason is averaging 41.7 yards over the last six times he’s touched the football. And that’s while robbing him of a touchdown he probably should have scored in Week 12 that was negated by an illegal blindside block.
Olszewski made up for it Sunday with a 70-yard punt return touchdown and a 38-yard touchdown catch. His teammates still credited him with last week’s score. But this one actually counts in the official record books.
“It ain’t our fault the first one got called back,” Olszewski said. “The game’s getting soft.”
Overall, Olszewski returned three punts for 145 yards, caught the 38-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham in garbage time and assisted on a special teams tackle.
“The coolest part about that (catch) was me and Stidham put so much work in this offseason,” Olszewski said. “Every day we were out there, he was throwing, I was running what felt like 100 routes a day. For me and him to do that, I think was pretty cool. …
“I caught a million footballs from Jarrett over the summer, so we got the look that we wanted. He pump-faked the bubble and we locked eyes and I knew he was going to put it right on my chest. We ran that route probably 20 times this summer. I think that all paid off.”
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in October when Olszewski came off of injured reserve that the Patriots were hoping to get some explosive plays out of receiver this season. Belichick, the soothsayer strikes again.
“Gunner’s worked extremely hard and overcome a lot,” Belichick said Sunday. “He’s not a big guy, but he’s got a big heart, and he plays hard.”
Newton had left the game in the fourth quarter after the Patriots took a 38-0 lead when Olszewski caught his touchdown pass from Stidham. But the Patriots’ starting quarterback was happy to see the second-year pro get into the end zone twice.
“I think this game was important because just to see the maturation of him over the weeks,” Newton said. “And last week he got kind of slighted with the touchdown getting called back — and for him to show up again.”
Every Olszewski touch is a must-see play after the last two weeks. We’ll see if he can continue to make a big impact moving forward as the 6-6 Patriots push for a playoff spot.
