Penalties on special teams could be big factor during Wild Card game vs. LA

If you think back to the home game against Buffalo, penalties on special teams handed the Bills some incredibly fortunate field position.

Field position that Josh Allen and the offense ended up taking advantage of when the defense couldn’t stop them.

Now, as the Pats prepare to play their first playoff game at home in six years on Sunday night against the Chargers, any and every mistake will be magnified. Missed tackles, blown assignments and most importantly, penalties could be the difference between hosting a game next weekend or cleaning out the locker room on Monday.

While offensively and defensively penalties are always going to be part of the game – hopefully minimally on New England’s side – it’s the special teams infractions that can ultimately end up being sneaky killers.

Without much time in a two-hour practice to clean things up ‘live’ whether it’s the kickoff, field goal or punting and punt return units, locking in on the details mentally during the week is imperative.

On Thursday, special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer was asked about the approach to cleaning up penalties when there’s not much opportunity to physically do so during the week.

“A lot of it is weak in review, looking around the league and grabbing all the penalties and showing our team. (Coach) Vrabel does a great job with that on Fridays and then, I sprinkle in throughout the week, at the end of the week,” he said. “At the end of the week, like, ‘hey, watch this clip here. Let’s learn from this clip so we don’t make the same mistake.’

“A lot of it this time of year too, is just learning. You have to be able to watch other people. You don’t get the time out there (at practice) to work like you would in OTAs and training camp, so do the best you can with the film. Guys that have been out there for 17 games now, they kind of understand it and they see it. So, that helps them out.”

While guys like Marcus Jones and Andy Borregales could play a major role in a win or a loss on Sunday, it could end up being the special teams unit that makes the least mistakes when it comes to careless infractions that help determine who has a game next week and who goes home.