In consecutive games, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has watched rookie kicker Chad Ryland whiff on 35-yard field goal attempts.
But the worst of the two misses came on Sunday in a potential game-tying kick that would have sent the Patriots’ Week 12 matchup against the New York Giants into overtime.
The snap was there. The hold was there. Everything was seemingly in place for Ryland to kick what should have been a chip shot through the uprights to solidify a late comeback drive by quarterback Bailey Zappe and the offense.
But it was no good.
“Chad’s a very talented player, but this is two weeks in a row we’ve basically missed extra points. It’s not good enough,” said Belichick, when appearing on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” via NESN’s Zack Cox.
Pretty strong critique of Chad Ryland from Bill Belichick on WEEI:
"Chad's a very talented player, but this is two weeks in a row we've basically missed extra points. It's not good enough."
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) November 27, 2023
Belichick’s decision to trade up in the fourth-round of the 2023 NFL draft to select Ryland was always a bit of a head-scratcher considering the team already had a reliable veteran kicker in Nick Folk on their roster.
The Patriots passed on some really good football players for Ryland, including Los Angeles Rams’ breakout star receiver Puka Nacua. If anything, it serves as a reminder of how bad this Patriots team failed before even taking a snap this season.
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