Tennessee football: How former Vols played in NFC, AFC championships

Cordarrelle Patterson had a 15-yard reception on a scoreless drive for the New England Patriots and a 3-yard reception to start off their touchdown drive to take back the lead after the Kansas City Chiefs went up 21-17 in the fourth quarter. But he represented Tennessee football with what he did on special teams.

For the game, Patterson had three kickoff returns for 80 yards, joining Julian Edelman with his 38 punt return yards to create great field position for the Patriots much of the time. That was a big deal throughout the game.

But most notably, Patterson had a kickoff return that was the crucial part of the game late. The Chiefs had just scored to go up 28-24 with just over two minutes left in the fourth. On the ensuing kickoff, Patterson ran the ball out and got all the way to the New England 35-yard line.

It was only a 38-yard return, as Patterson fielded it three yards deep in the end zone. But it was all Tom Brady needed. With that field position, he was able to lead a touchdown drive to put the Pats back up late, and that was huge after KC tied the game. So it’s safe to say Patterson was a key playmaker in this game, and that’s another reason we put him high on the list. Of his five touches, three came on TD drives.