The New England Patriots special teams unit came to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers, coming away with a ridiculous play to down a punt inside the five.
Field position is a very under-appreciated part of the game of football, which is why so many casual fans forget about the importance of special teams. The New England Patriots are not the kind of team that is going to overlook their special teams unit.
That focus on special teams was on display once again for the Patriots on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In the second quarter of Sunday’s game, the Patriots punted the ball back to the Steelers. Despite their gunner getting pushed in the back, Jonathan Jones stayed with it and made an incredible dive to keep the ball out of the end zone. Rex Burkhead followed that up with a second diving save to pin the Steelers inside their own five-yard line.
You can watch a video of the play below.
The @Patriots' punt coverage 💯💯💯
— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2018
📺: CBS #GoPats https://t.co/t0ZHk3T4FH
The Steelers still led 14-7 at the time, but this play was a huge one to help out the Patriots. The Steelers weren’t able to do anything on the ensuing drive, with Ben Roethlisberger throwing an interception a few plays after the terrific punt.
That play was a huge one for the Patriots special teams unit, which has made a ton of plays this season. We’ll see if that unit can help make up for some of the shortcomings with the team’s other units once the playoffs come around.