Patriots Special Teams Report – Week 3 vs. Houston Texans

What a win it was for the 3-0 Patriots, and this was the first time we saw the huge impact that Pro Football Focus’s second-ranked special teams unit can have on a game.

Instead of detailing one specific area, I decided to touch on several facets in which the Patriots excelled or had room for improvement because there was so much to discuss regarding special teams this week.

Of course, the work of the Patriots kickoff unit has to lead off. The Patriots were able to come up with two clutch turnovers that swung the game firmly in their favor, giving Jacoby Brissett the ball twice inside the Houston 25 yard line (both at times in which the game was still up for grabs).

The first fumble, courtesy of Brandon Bolden, occurred right after the Pats had put the first points on the board and led just 3-0. The offense converted the favorable field position into a touchdown, extending the lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter.

The second fumble, forced by a stellar hit by Nate Ebner, followed a Gostkowski field goal on the first drive of the second half that increased the lead to 13-0.

Thanks to two huge pass interference calls in the end zone, the Patriots punched it to stretch the lead to 20, all but putting the game out of hand. The importance of giving your rookie quarterback making his first career start short fields to work with cannot be overstated, and the Pats were able to do it twice, thanks to outstanding play by the kickoff unit. Oh and by the way, opponents have yet to cross the 25-yard line on kickoff returns so far in three games this year. Not bad.

Another major factor in the demolition of the Texans was the play of Ryan Allen. I talked about his struggles in the first two games last week, and the importance of improvement if the Patriots were to have a chance in this game, and improve did he ever.

He was excellent on the night, punting 7 times for an average of 47.6 yards, providing the defense with incredible field position every time he punted. Houston’s average starting field position off his punts was their own 11 yard line, including twice when Brock Osweiler and the Texans were forced to start inside their own five. Perhaps Allen’s biggest highlight of the night was his 57-yard punt late in the third that that squashed Houston’s hopes of gaining any sort of positive field position that could jump-start their stagnant offense. For as lackluster as he was against Miami, Allen earned every bit of praise he received after Thursday’s elite performance.

Finally, I thought I would mention the struggles of Cyrus Jones as a punt returner throughout the night. On the first return, Jones failed to call for a fair catch, despite the gunner for the Texans (Charles James) bearing down on him. Luckily for the Pats, James was called for interference with an opportunity to catch the punt, nullifying Jones’s muff. Had the referee not been shrewd enough to recognize the penalty, this play had the potential to be a backbreaking turnover early in the game.

Belichick and Joe Judge sent Amendola out to return the next punt, but showed trust in their rookie and brought Jones back out to receive the next punt. He returned it for 13 yards, but ended up fumbling once he hit the ground. He was ruled down before the fumble after Bill O’Brien challenged the ruling on the field, but it still showed his penchant for struggling to keep the ball all the way to the ground. Jones was back out to receive the next punt, as well as the first punt of the second half, but after fumbling the latter, Belichick sent Amendola back out for the last return of the night.

Bottom line, Jones and the Pats were very, very fortunate to not turn the ball over on any of these occasions, and he must improve if he hopes to see the field as a returner in the future.

Special teams will be a huge point of emphasis again in Week 4 against Buffalo, seeing as there is a very real possibility that the Patriots will be forced to start a quarterback signed that same week. Look for Ryan Allen to build off his impressive game and gift the Pats defense with positive field position time and time again, and for the Patriots special teams as a whole to continue to make game altering plays.