The New England Patriots were looking for a spark late in the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night, and the special teams unit delivered.
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Up 17-3, the Dolphins lined up for a 49-yard field goal late in the third quarter. With how bad the Patriots offense was struggling in this game, a 17-point deficit this late in the game would be hard to overcome.
Realizing his offense was struggling to find points, with just a field goal on the board over three quarters, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick dug into his deep bag of tricks and dialed up one of the most impressive blocked field goal plays you'll ever see.
https://x.com/mysportsupdate/status/1703594472590733607?s=46&t=Jqolxh7ELX7amI3ok_jq6A
The Patriots lined up special teams ace Brenden Schooler out wide and then had him run horizontally along the line of scrimmage. Schooler then broke up field at the snap and blew right past the Dolphins' field goal protection, who did not account for Schooler flying off the edge.
Schooler easily blocked the Jason Sanders' kick, which was scooped up by Kyle Dugger, who returned it to the Miami 49-yard line. Belichick once again proved that he is one of the most creative minds to ever coach in the NFL with this play call.
While the play was impressive, the spark it gave the Patriots was short lived. Quarterback Mac Jones was intercepted by Xavien Howard at the Dolphins 3-yard line. At the very least, Schooler's block kept the game at just a two-score deficit for New England.
It will be interesting to see if this play becomes widely used like the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback sneak play, and if there eventually are cries to ban the play if it continues to be as successful as it was for the Patriots on Sunday night.
