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Buffalo Bills punter Matt Haack has the spotlight on him heading into his team’s wild-card matchup against the New England Patriots.
Haack, in his first season with the Bills (11-6), had a horrid final game of the season against the New York Jets. Multiple shanked punts and a bobbled attempt to boot.
But as an experienced player in his fifth NFL season, Haack isn’t overly concerned ahead of facing the Patriots (10-7). He’s using a simple formula to help keep the confidence high.
Every punt wasn’t bad on Sunday.
“I think I had three or four punts that, actually, I was happy with in that game, going into that gusty wind,” Haack told the Buffalo News. “I expect a lot out of myself, and I don’t want to let my team down. But to be able to finish on a high note like that and put together some good punts, I think it’s big. It shows I didn’t let those few bad mistakes into the whole game.”
The Bills are going to need Haack to at least tread water against the Patriots this weekend. Teams can get away with such mistakes while facing a team like the Jets.
Buffalo won’t like their chances as much against New England if the special teams miscues start to pile up.
Earlier this week, head coach Sean McDermott was trying to boost the Bills punter up with some confidence.
“I think he’s done some really good things for our football team,” McDermott said via video conference. “There were plays we all obviously want back. I’m sure that he wants some of those back. I love the fact that he’s a resilient competitor and I can’t wait to watch him moving forward.”
Hopefully that’ll be enough of a pat on the back for Haack to bounce back in Orchard Park this weekend.
weekend: Super Bowl dreams could ride on it.
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