Were it not for their rookie kicker, the Patriots might have pulled away with a comfortable win Sunday.

But if not for that same kicker, the Pats don’t win at all in Denver.

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Ryland drilled a game-winning, 56-yard field goal down the middle to cap a thrilling 26-23 upset of the Broncos on Christmas Eve. Ryland’s final make followed earlier misses on a 47-yarder and an extra point. The rookie entered Sunday with the lowest field goal percentage of any starting kicker in the league and has now missed a field goal in four straight games with at least one attempt.

But, he nailed his biggest kick of the season Sunday; hard-earned redemption that was not lost on the 24-year-old post-game.

“Oftentimes, you find the greatest treasure in the darkest caves. And I’ve obviously been struggling a little bit this year,” Ryland told reporters in Denver. “I was really, really fortunate to be surrounded by a team that believes in me. And that helps me to continue to move forward with my process, and then go ahead and knock the last one down.”

Ryland shared that Pats special teams captain Matthew Slater told him mid-game the team would need him in the fourth quarter. The Patriots led 23-7 at the start of the fourth, but faced a tied score when the offense took over with less than a minute remaining.

Once Bailey Zappe found DeVante Parker down the left sideline for a 27-yard completion that moved the Pats to midfield, Ryland was suddenly in range with 25 seconds to play. Then Zappe found Ezekiel Elliott for five yards, called timeout and gained four more on a short throw over the middle to tight end Mike Gesicki.

Ryland took over from there, booming a high-arching kick that split the uprights and silenced a once frenzied Denver crowd with 0:02 left on the clock. Patriots coach Bill Belichick offered a succinct analysis of the game-winning field goal.

“Big kick,” Belichick said.

In his post-game press conference, Ryland reiterated how meaningful his teammates’ support has been to him. He also said he’s not lost confidence throughout a trying rookie campaign that last week was affected by under-inflated balls versus Kansas City. But the thin air in Mile High was kind to Ryland, who said he knew his game-winner was true as soon as he struck it.

Bailey Zappe leads Patriots on first game-winning drive 26-23 over Broncos

“I knew it. I knew when I hit it, it had a really good chance to go in,” Ryland said. “But the misses, I’m just working through some process things fundamentally that I know will make me a better kicker, and it was fun to see that show up there on that last kick. Because when it all clicks together like that, it’s a good ball flight.”

Zappe agreed.

“He made a hell of a kick,” Zappe said. “I mean, that was unbelievable.”