'Eerily Calm' Gostkowski Delivers Memorable Patriots Win Over Giants
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's not often that the kicker gets to take the podium, so when Stephen Gostkowski stepped to the microphone at MetLife Stadium on Sunday evening, he made sure to make the most of his opportunity.
Seizing an opportunity, as it turned out, was the theme of Gostkowski's comments, after the kicker discussed what went through his head when lining up the potential potential game-winning, 54-yard field goal to defeat the Giants.
"I just look forward to the opportunity," Gostkowski said after the 27-26 Patriots victory. "I think if you're shying away from the opportunity, you have a good chance of going out there and second-guessing yourself."
There was no second-guessing this one, though for a moment it looked like it might curl outside of the left upright. Yet it stayed true -- enough -- and had plenty of distance, and when it came down, the Patriots were 9-0.
Even though most of his teammates and his coaching staff -- and not to mention the entire Patriots fan base -- were probably stressing out in various ways, Gostkowski said he was signing a song in his head while getting ready for the kick.
"I go out there, I sing a song in my head," Gostkowski said without revealing the "mystery" song. "I do, I sing a song in my head, just to distract everything else. It's cool, it's fun, just trying to get ultra-focused. There are times when you're in the zone and everything moves in slow motion. And there are times when things move really fast, and you just gotta slow yourself down. All I really think about is don't try to kick the ball too hard because a lot of times when I've missed kicks, it's because I tried to kill it.
"I just tried to make a smooth swing, thoughts of just being under control and slow, going out there and making the kick."
With the successful kick, Gostkowski has now kicked the most field goals in Patriots history with 264, one more than Adam Vinatieri. Gostkowski has successfully kicked 30 straight field goals, leaving him 12 shy of the NFL record, which was set by Mike Vanderjagt from 2002-04.
Yet despite the moment and despite what was at stake, Gostkowski revealed that he treated the game-winning kick just like it was the preseason.
"Me, [long snapper Joe Cardona] and [holder Ryan Allen] just felt eerily calm out there. Me and Ryan were looking at each other smiling on the sidelines, it just felt like I was going to get that opportunity. But I think it's a little easier thinking that you're going to get it, and then going out there and getting it. I go out there and attack every kick to try to make it. I don't worry too much about results. Obviously if I would've missed that kick, we would've lost. But that's the name of the game. It's fun to be in those situations. They don't come very often, especially long kicks like that."
The kicker did admit to being aware of the negative repercussions of potentially missing that kick, though.
"You're one kick away from being public enemy number 1, and that's why my job is very humbling. No matter how many kicks that I hit, how many games that we win, I'm always gonna try to stay humble and have humility, because you're one play away from, you know, trending on Twitter as the number one loser in America," Gostkowski said. "I just try to go out there, have fun, do my job. And it's fun to be on a good team. When everyone else around you is doing well, it's kind of like being on a baseball team when everyone's getting a hit. You want your opportunity to go up there because you feel like you're going to get a hit, too. It was a fun game. I still gotta go out and make a lot of kicks the rest of the year."
As for the preparation, Gostkowski said it began after Tom Brady threw an interception on the goal line. New York took over, trailing by one point, with 6:01 left in the fourth quarter. Gostkowski said he didn't really follow the game much after that, because "they're not going to be asking my advice for any play-calling any time soon." Instead, he started warming up, preparing for what could be the kick that decides the game.
"I told Ryan, I was like, 'We're gonna get a game-winner. You guys be ready.' And he made me look smart; Tom got us in range, guys made a lot of good catches, and we finished off the kick," Gostkowski said.
In Gostkowski's nine-year career, this kick will stand as his most pressure-packed. It was his seventh game-winner, but none were quite like this one.
Still, don't expect the kicker to get too high or too low, and don't expect him to act like he just won the Super Bowl.
"We don't rank wins. We're 9-0," he said. "It was a fun game, don't get me wrong. Obviously those guys have had our number. It counts as one win. We're going to move forward and look forward to beating the Bills. Any time you can beat a good team on the road and have the fans go home quiet, it's a blast."
