Patriots
“It was good to see him miss it. It was good to see us get a win.”
Considering all of the misfortune that has befallen the Patriots during a miserable 2023 season, most New England fans likely weren’t surprised to see Chad Ryland’s potential game-winning kick sail wide left at MetLife Stadium.
And it seems like the Giants weren’t all that shocked either to see the rookie’s attempt hook away from the goalposts.
Speaking after New York’s ugly 10-7 win over New England, Giants safety Xavier McKinney said that Ryland’s body language spelled doom for a Patriots team now saddled with a 2-9 record.
“I felt like he was going to miss,” McKinney told reporters via team-provided video. “I think he was a little nervous. I was trying to talk to him before he actually kicked it. It was good to see him miss it. It was good to see us get a win.”
It’s been a tough rookie season for Ryland, who was taken by New England in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s only connected on 12 of his 18 field-goal attempts (66.67 percent) over 11 games.
His lone field-goal attempt on Sunday against the Giants came at a critical time.
Despite New England’s offensive futility for most of the afternoon, the Patriots still had an opportunity to send Sunday’s slog of a contest into overtime, with Bailey Zappe, Rhamondre Stevenson, and the Patriots orchestrating a 10-play, 33-yard drive that set Ryland up for a 35-yard field goal attempt.
But in what has been a recurring trend all year, Ryland and the Patriots came up just short.
“I’ll own that and I’ll take responsibility for that every day of the week,” Ryland told reporters after the game. “Protection was good, snap was good, hold was good. I’ve got to do a better job of making that kick.”
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