In a game of many ups and downs, one play is still being talked about. 

During the third quarter, Brenden Schooler executed a unique play call and the end result provided the Patriots with the ball in prime field position. He blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders, with Kyle Dugger able to scoop it up.

Veterans Matthew Slater and Adrian Phillips were asked about the play, and both couldn't keep the smile off their face when remembering what happened. 

"Give a lot of credit to Cam (Achord) and Joe Houston and Joe Judge for seeing what they believed to be a weakness there that we could take advantage of," Slater said. "I think a tremendous design, one that we really haven't seen." 

"And then the most important piece of that is you have to have the right guy to execute it. And Schooler's a guy who has tremendous length, tremendous speed, his ability to bend the fence is phenomenal, and his quickness," Slater added. "I think he's probably the only guy on the team that can execute that. So we chose the right guy, and I just have so much confidence in him."

Another player who has some special teams experience is Phillips and when asked if he had ever seen a play like that, his answer was simple. 

"No, that was dope," Phillips said. "I mean we practice for it and he went out there and executed it and it was just great to see, like him doing that. He's a guy that's always been ready for the moment like, Schooler's my guy. He got the hair, we call him sunshine from time to time. But just seeing him be ready for that moment and go out there and execute it, it really helped the team and really put us in a position to actually fight for the win." 

An undrafted free agent, Schooler joined the Patriots in 2022 and was one of two undrafted rookies to make the team. He impressed during his first season, becoming a core part of the special teams unit. 

Despite only having been a Patriot for a short time, Matthew Slated explains that it feels like he's been there for so much longer. 

"I know we've been playing together for a little over a year, but it feels like we've played together for decades," Slater said. "I mean his maturity, his desire to compete, so you knew in that moment it wasn't going to be too big for him. I had no doubt in my mind that he was going to block it." 

When the coaches called the play, there was no doubt in Slater's mind that Schooler was going to block the punt. And he made sure to tell the special teamer just that.  

So Slater made sure to give credit where credit is due after the impressive play on Sunday night.  

"You obviously give a ton of credit to the coaches for scouting that out, but then you give a ton of credit to 41 for just being 41."

Featured Image via Sophie Weller – A to Z Sports