FOXBORO, Mass. — As they prepared for Sunday’s matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, Matthew Slater and his fellow Patriots special teamers heard a consistent message:
This team embarrassed you last season. How are you going to respond?
Last year’s Colts game was the low point in an uncharacteristically poor season for New England’s kicking game. The Patriots jumped offsides on a missed Colts field goal, granting Indy a successful rekick, and had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown in a 27-17 loss. That defeat triggered the Patriots’ four-losses-in-five-weeks nosedive that closed out their 2022 campaign.
In Slater’s words, the Patriots were “dominated” on special teams on that night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Motivated this week by coordinator Cam Achord and special teams assistant Joe Houston, they ensured there would be no repeat of that woeful performance on Sunday.
Despite some shaky punting from Jake Bailey, the Patriots held the clear kicking-game edge over the Colts in their Week 9 rematch at Gillette Stadium. They got two big-play returns from rookie Marcus Jones, a 4-for-4 showing of field goals from Nick Folk and, fittingly, a blocked punt by Jonathan Jones midway through the second quarter.
Theirs did not directly result in six points, but Brenden Schooler recovered on the Indianapolis 2-yard line, and Rhamondre Stevenson scored the game’s lone offensive touchdown two plays later as the Patriots rolled to a 26-3 win.
“A little bit of redemption there,” Slater said postgame. “I know it was personal for Cam and Joe this week. They wanted to make sure we were prepared and could go out and play with confidence and play fast. They did a great job of getting us ready, and then I think guys just stepped up and executed when they needed to. Kudos to everybody for embracing the challenge which was issued by Coach early in the week. It was no mystery that we didn’t play the way we wanted to last year, so it was nice to come out and do it this year.”
According to Slater, Achord and Houston hammered the memory of last year’s performance into their players’ minds this week, which the longtime captain said was both understandable and effective.
“When you play as poorly as we did against them in the kicking game as we did last year, it’s kind of hard not to bring it up,” he said. “We really felt like we spotted them 10 points. We jumped offsides on a field-goal rep, and then obviously the blocked punt. He was quick to remind us of that this week, and I understand that. It was motivating for the guys, and they answered the bell today.”
On the pivotal punt block, Jones initially aligned across from the Colts’ left gunner before shifting toward the formation just before the snap. As one of the Patriots’ fastest players, he shot in unblocked and swatted down the ball as it left punter Matt Haack’s left foot. Slater called the play a “gutsy call” by Achord. Jones said the Patriots liked their matchup against Haack and the Colts’ punt team.
“We had that dialed up on punt, to go after him pretty early,” Jones said. “I don’t know if it was revenge for last year, but it’s kind of on our radar to go after him on special teams.”
Jones, one of the Patriots’ starting cornerbacks, later added a fourth-quarter pick-six to close out the scoring.
“There’s only about two or three guys on this team that we would try to do that with, and (Jones) is one of them,” Slater said. “Obviously, his speed and quickness, his football IQ. We had certain keys that we’re looking for in terms of timing it up, and he came out and executed it to perfection. We really felt like that was the play that turned the game for us. Huge day for my man. Pick-six, blocked punt. Great outing by him.”
Schooler dove on the ball after Jones’ block, adding to his growing list of recoveries. The undrafted rookie previously pounced on muffed punts in wins over Pittsburgh and Cleveland and also leads the Patriots with five solo special teams tackles.
“He’s been huge,” Slater said. “… He’s not playing like a rookie, let me tell you that. He’s playing like he’s been doing this for a long time, and we’re really fortunate to have him.”
The 5-4 Patriots now will enjoy their bye week before hosting the 6-3 New York Jets the following Sunday.
