Patriots Punter Jake Bailey Named AFC Special Teams Player Of The Week
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's only Week 4, but Patriots rookie punter Jake Bailey already has some hardware to show off. Bailey has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in New England's 30-14 victory over the New York Jets last Sunday.
Bailey put five of his seven punts against the Jets inside the 20-yard line on Sunday, forcing New York to start drives at their own 12, 10, 8, 8 and 1-yard line. The Jets gained just 105 total net yards in the game, as the Patriots defense once again kept their opponent out of the end zone.
"Jake is a very talented player. He had a lot to work with and has done well," Bill Belichick said of his punter on Wednesday. "Since he's been here, there have been some situational punting we've asked him to do and he's handled that well. He's done a good job holding and kicking off in the preseason. He's done a solid job for us."
The Patriots traded up and drafted Bailey in the fifth round (163rd overall) out of Stanford in the 2019 NFL Draft. The rookie beat out Ryan Allen during camp to earn New England's punter job.
This is the first weekly honor for a Patriots player this season. Two Patriots won AFC Special Teams awards during the 2018 season: Dont'a Hightower was the player of the week for Week 7 after he blocked a punt at Chicago and kicker Stephen Gostkowski was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October.
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Bills clash on WBZ-TV -- the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Coverage begins Friday night at 7 p.m. with Patriots All Access, and kicks off Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay. The Patriots and Bills kick off at 1 p.m. and after the game, switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
