DENVER — The Patriots went from worst to first this season. Defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III went from worst to first in-season.

Taylor became a Patriots legend in the team’s AFC Championship Game win over the Broncos when he elevated off the ground and blocked a game-tying 45-yard field-goal attempt from Will Lutz with 4:46 left in regulation.

Related Articles

‘All-Pros don’t mean (expletive)’: Patriots’ D-line was motivated in AFC title win

How Drake Maye improvised Patriots’ final play to send them to the Super Bowl

Callahan: Patriots’ return to the Super Bowl a complete team triumph

Best and worst: What we learned from Patriots’ AFC Championship Game win over Broncos

AFC Championship Game inactives: Patriots get offensive boost

“All I know is, we seen the ball move and then we got some knockback. Next thing I know, I just jumped in the air and I got a taste of the ball,” Taylor said.

“Lenny T,” as head coach Mike Vrabel calls him, was waived by the lowly Jets on Oct. 14. The Patriots signed him to their practice squad two days later. Two months later, Taylor earned his first opportunity, and the Patriots haven’t been able to take him off the field since. He remains on the Patriots’ practice squad but was a game-day elevation for Sunday’s AFC title game.

After Taylor’s block, the Broncos possessed the ball just one more time in a drive that ended with an interception from cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

“We just lined up and knocked the man in front of us over,” Taylor said of his blocked kick. “That’s pretty much it. Take his face off, for real.”

Taylor has now been elevated off the practice squad in five consecutive games. He’s appeared in six games total with the Patriots this season after playing in just two games with the Jets before being cut.

The second-year pro joined the Jets in 2024 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Miami. He was a regular contributor last season but lost favor with the Jets under new head coach Aaron Glenn.

“They didn’t me,” Taylor said of the Jets. “Somebody else will. I’m just gonna play ball at the end of the day.”

Taylor had time to reflect on his journey, going from a team that finished the 2025 season 3-14 to now playing in Super Bowl LX.

“I went from a losing team to a Super Bowl team,” Taylor said. “So it’s pretty great. It’s pretty amazing just knowing that all the hard work I put in, it’s finally being noticed. It’s being seen.”