Few heads turned last offseason when the Patriots signed a free agent kicker named Joey Slye. The move made sense after Chad Ryland had some ups and downs during his rookie season. Bringing in a veteran to compete with him was a smart plan, he and Ryland traded kicks through the spring and into minicamp.

As it played out over the summer Slye slowly emerged with his consistent day-in and day-out makes. Head coach Jerod Mayo turned up the heat on the kickers quite a few times, allowing spare players not part of the drill to gather around the attempt, barking and generally doing anything they could to distract the competing kickers. In the end, it was the vet Slye who prevailed.

"I thought those guys competed," said Mayo after making the decision on cutdown day. "Chad [Ryland] competed, Slye competed. I would say, I think it was clear, at least to me, that Slye had a better camp."

So far, four games into 2024 it looks like Slye's strong camp has carried over into a strong start for the Patriots, and on Sunday a record-setting performance rewarded both the team and the player.

The record came on Slye's 63-yard field goal that set a new high in Patriots team history and was the fourth-longest kick in NFL history.

"Difficulty-wise, I do think this is one of the harder kicks I've hit, obviously distance-wise, I mean, I've played in [Levi's Stadium] a couple of times, and sometimes the way the wind swirls in that stadium, you just can't get a very consistent pattern based off those two openings on that home side," said Slye of the record setter. "That's the furthest one I've hit in a game. So I definitely would say its one of my top hits."

So far the vet is 8-of-9 on field goals, with the lone blemish a blocked attempt against the Seahawks. Range and consistency are a nice combination.

"I've been able to hit it from deep for a while," said Slye. "It's just been throughout my career continuing to add to the consistency of my game that has been on the forefront of all my training."

Peppers Popped

There were some moments the Patriots defense would like back from Sunday's loss, but Jabrill Peppers played a big part in keeping the deficit manageable with two big plays that included an acrobatic interception.

The Patriots red zone defense held San Francisco to two field goals in the first quarter, while Peppers interception gave the offense another crack at making it a one-score game.

"Definitely good to make a play, you know, I think we were down with 14 points right there, like seven or eight minutes left. So, you know, stranger things have happened," said Peppers on Monday. "But you know, whenever our number is called, we're trying to go out there, negate the bleeding, try to make a play on the ball, and put our offense in the best possible situations as we can."

Peppers' well-timed blitz on third down was a key piece of the second red zone stop, while he tied for the team lead in tackles (7) and allowed just one reception for three yards on three targets. On an injury-thinned defense, the newly-named captain stepped up, even as his partner in the safety room Kyle Dugger was among those to leave the game.

"It's definitely tough losing one of our better players, one of our best communicators, one of our best playmakers on the defensive side of the ball," said Peppers of seeing Dugger exit with an ankle injury. "But like I said, you got to step up.

"You know, we lost Barmore early, [Bentley] went down. Now [Dugger]. No excuses. You got to be the next man up. A lot of opportunity out there. You know, who's going to rise to the occasion? And that's what we're looking for right now. So when we do get those guys back, we can see how that depth looks, and what pieces we can move around to create the picture that we want to show."

Antonio Gibson on Jacoby Brissett's toughness:

"Just being honest, it was not there as a complete offense, receivers, O-line, running backs, we have to do a better job of protecting him so he can do his job on the back end. Jacoby's not to blame, but like, it's certain plays, he said himself, he should have been quicker, should have got that pass off. And then on certain plays where he just needs time. So that goes both ways, hand in hand. But for him to, regardless of the outcome, to always have his O-line's back, running back's back, the receiver's back. You know, he consistently gets up. He never throws anybody under the bus, and he continues to work. He plays hard. He gets up, hit after hit. That right there, that simple act that gains a lot of respect, you know somebody who's going to fight regardless of the situation."

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