Could special teams be Patriots' biggest weakness?
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In the first quarter, the special teams of the New England Patriots were the difference.
They downed a punt at the 1-yard line, and on the next play, the defense forced a safety.
Later in the period, they blocked a field goal attempt to spawn a touchdown drive.
In the second half, it was a different story.
The Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 30-23 Monday night, but a couple of special teams turnovers allowed Baltimore to claw back into the game, and could’ve cost New England the game.
"We’ve just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball than we did tonight, and that’s everybody that handles it so we’ll work on those things," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We’ll work on it with everybody. It’s everybody’s responsibility to protect the ball who handles it and we’ve just got to do a better job of it."
In the third quarter, holding a 23-3 lead, Patriots cornerback Cyrus Jones nicked a punt with his foot and the Ravens recovered the ball at the New England 3-yard line. Two plays later, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco found tight end Darren Waller for a touchdown grab.
It was Jones’ fifth muffed or fumbled return this season.
On the ensuing kickoff return, special teams ace and receiver Matthew Slater received the kickoff, but had the ball punched out for another fumble recovered by Baltimore.
Just four plays later, Flacco connected with running back Kenneth Dixon for an 8-yard touchdown catch.
In 1:26 of game time, the Ravens added 14 gift-wrapped points to make the score 23-17.
"It was obviously disappointing, especially for myself being the leader of that unit," Slater said. "Taking care of the football in clutch situations — I’m disappointed that I didn’t come through for the team, but we won the game."
On the following kickoff return, running backs Dion Lewis and James White were back to return the ball.
And on punts, the Patriots used receiver Julian Edelman and safety Patrick Chung to field them.
Jones was supposed to be one of the team’s rising special teams players, but as New England heads into the final three weeks of the season and into the postseason, it still doesn’t have an answer for who is best equipped to return kicks.
"We’re going to have to clean some of that up," Slater said. "We can’t afford to turn the ball over when we’re supposed to be regaining possession. These are things we’re going to have to work on."
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Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.