New England Patriots: 5 observations from tough loss to Chiefs

4. Special teams continue to be special

Down 23-7 in the game, the New England Patriots needed plays out of their defense and special teams to give their offense a chance to score points and they got it.

Despite having a field goal blocked earlier in the game, the Patriots blocked a punt in the third quarter to set up a touchdown.  The play really did shift momentum in the game and came at a great time for the team.

This time it was Nate Ebner who got to the punter.  Check this out:

Special teams ace Matthew Slater was proud of how his unit was able to come through as they have all season long.

"“That’s a huge play by Nate [Ebner],” Slater said following the game, via Patriots.com.  “It’s something that we worked on all week.  We felt good about it and we took advantage of the matchup and Nate executed it perfectly.  You can’t really get too excited about it unfortunately, because we didn’t get the result we wanted.  But I think our guys collectively have done a good job of just buying in and believing what we are trying to get done in the kicking game.”"

As a leader, Slater would’ve loved the victory, but proud of how his team played and fought to the very end.

It looks like the Patriots are going to need this outstanding special teams play going forward and into the playoffs to have a chance winning game.