Unfortunately, the year hasn’t turned out the way Chad Ryland had hoped after being drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2023 draft.
His mid-season struggles continued in primetime when the rookie missed a 47-yard field goal and hit the post on an extra point in the first half of Sunday’s matchup. After the game, the rookie spoke with reporters at the podium for the first time this season.
“Honestly, I didn’t waver in confidence at all because I knew the guys around me still believed in me and have believed in me all year,” he told the media. “That means more to an athlete, and even more so a kicker, that I think I could even put into words.”
Leading up to Sunday, Chad Ryland had missed four of his last six field goals and only totaled a 63% success rate, marking the lowest among NFL kickers. He was 13/20 on the season, and many Patriots fans were questioning why the Patriots decided to draft a kicker, let alone trade up to select a kicker.
But when it mattered most, Ryland succeeded as he nailed a game-winning 56-yard field goal to cap off a 26-23 upset against the Broncos. It was the rookie’s longest successful field goal of his NFL career.
So, how did the final drive even lead to a game-winning kick for the Patriots? Let’s start at the beginning of the drive. Bailey Zappe and the offense trotted out to their 19-yard line with 58 seconds left. It wasn’t a pretty start to the drive, with the Patriots calling back-to-back run plays. It seemed as if Bill Belichick was playing for overtime, but on third-and-three, Zappe threw a dart to DeVante Parker for 27 yards. Then, with 18 seconds left, Zappe found tight-end Mike Gesicki over the middle for a quick completion. Zappe spiked the ball with seven seconds remaining, which led to the Chad Ryland field goal attempt.
“Often, you find the greatest treasure in the darkest caves,” Ryland told reporters. “And I’ve been struggling a little bit this year. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by a team that believes in me. And that helps me to continue to move forward with my process and then go ahead and knock the last one down.”
The former Maryland Terpians kicker knew it was good as soon as the ball hit his foot.
“I knew it. I knew when I hit it, it had a really good chance to go in,” Ryland said. “But the misses, I’m just working through some process things fundamentally that I know will make me a better kicker, and it was fun to see that show up there on that last kick. Because when it all clicks together like that, it’s a good ball flight.”
Even though veteran Matthew Slater was inactive due to a hamstring injury, he talked with Ryland during the game to give him a pep talk.
“You have guys like Matt Slater coming up to you and telling you, Hey, man, we’ll need you in the fourth quarter here. That’s what it’s turning out to be,” Ryland said. “And Matt the prophet, it came true. I’m super thankful and blessed to have a team around me that supports me through anything.”
The Patriots moved to 4-11 in Denver and will now head to Buffalo to face off with the scorching-hot Bills next Sunday.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
