National Football League

Extra cedit;Field goal redemption for Gostkowski

Published Oct. 19, 2010 10:16 a.m. ET

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Tom Brady and Deion Branch made it feel like the good old days around here yesterday, so in keeping with that spirit, kicker Stephen Gostkowski did a little Adam Vinatieri impersonation.

Gostkowski's 24-yard field goal tied the game with 1:51 left in the fourth quarter. He won it with a 35-yarder in overtime.

"I'm glad I got the opportunity," Gostkowski said after the Patriots' 23-20 win over the Ravens. "As a field goal kicker, you have to go with what's given to you. When you get an opportunity to come through for this team it's very rewarding to walk off winners."

It was Gostkowski's first winning field goal in OT - he kicked it with 1:56 left - and the second game-winner of his career. He connected on a 31-yard field goal with 1:10 left to lift the Patriots to a 24-21 win over San Diego in a 2006 divisional playoff game.

Vinatieri, by the way, made 19 winning field goals for the Patriots, including two in Super Bowl victories.

Gostkowski also made a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter.

The Patriots had the ball at the Baltimore 44 with 4 seconds to play in the fourth. New England elected to have Brady throw up a jump ball into the end zone - which Baltimore safety Ken Hamlin came down with - rather than have Gostkowski try a 61-yard field goal.

"That's not my call," Gostkowski said. "It would have been cool to try it, but overall I'm 3 for 3 with a game-winner. I can't go home mad."

Yesterday's performance was nice redemption for Gostkowski, who had a rough start to the season. He missed three of his first four field goal tries. A low point was in the first quarter of the Jets game when a delay-of-game penalty on holder Zoltan Mesko negated Gostkowski's 32-yard field goal. After the 5-yard penalty, Gostkowski missed the 37-yarder.

"You move on from it," Gostkowski said. "You learn from the experience and you know you're going to get another opportunity."

For the second straight game, special teams played a key part in a Patriots' win. Two weeks ago in Miami, Patrick Chung blocked a punt and field goal try, leading to 14 points, and Brandon Tate returned the second-half kickoff 103 yards for a TD.

In addition to Gostkowski's exploits yesterday, rookie punter Mesko made some contributions, averaging 47.2 yards on six kicks.

"We definitely have a lot of pride in special teams," Gostkowski said. "Once you get a couple good plays, it carries over. Any time you can help the team win as a special teams unit is very rewarding."

Mesko's booming 65-yarder, aided by some wind and a bounce, pinned the Ravens at their own 19 late in OT.

"From the feel of it, it felt really good," Mesko said. "I was excited about the bounce more."

The punt was the longest of the year for Mesko and the longest in Patriots history in overtime.

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