The Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 20-18 in the AFC Championship Game. A case can certainly be made that Stephen Gostkowski’s missed extra point in the first quarter was the game’s biggest play. One of the men making that claim is Gostkowski himself.
Gostkowski: "I feel like I lost the game. I feel sorry for myself, but I don't expect people to feel sorry for me."
— Michael Whitmer (@MichaelTWhitmer) January 24, 2016
What’s so interesting about this is that Gostkowski has not missed an extra point since his rookie season of 2006. He was one of only a few NFL kickers to not struggle with the extra point being moved back this season.
These points are not missed on Gostkowski’s teammate, Julian Edelman.
Edelman calls Gostkowski a "stud."
— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) January 25, 2016
This was a huge play in the game. Had Gostkowski made the extra point and everything else played out the same, the Patriots would have been able to kick a PAT to tie the game instead of needing a two-point conversion. But to say that his missed PAT cost New England the game is stretching it.
Remember, the Patriots passed on two relatively short field goals in the fourth quarter, opting to go for it on fourth down twice. Both times, they failed. If New England tries those kicks and makes even one of them, then their final touchdown wins the game, regardless of what happened on the PAT. If they tried both and made both, then they would have only needed a field goal.
Additionally, even if Gostkowski had made his early PAT (and then the one at the end to tie), it would have only tied the game.
So, while the kicker earns a lot of brownie points for facing the music, his missed kick was only one thing out of many that contributed to the loss. It certainly didn’t lose the game for the New England Patriots.