The offense received the lion’s share of the criticism, but the New England Patriots’ special teams operation was not a whole lot better in 2022. Frankly, the group struggled last year before finishing the season on a low note — giving up two kickoff return touchdowns in a season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills.
All in all, the Patriots surrendered three scores in the game’s third phase; they had a punt blocked and ranked near the bottom of the league in gross and net punting. Rookie return man Marcus Jones was a bright spot, but the unit as a whole was not up to the task.