FOXBORO — Josh McDaniels put a positive spin on Will Campbell’s rough divisional-round performance.
The Patriots’ rookie left tackle struggled mightily against the Texans’ talented pass rush, allowing two sacks and four pressures in his team’s snowy win at Gillette Stadium. One week earlier, Campbell had issues containing Chargers rushers, surrendering a sack and five pressures in the wild-card round.
Entering Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against Denver — which boasts another formidable front led by edge rusher Nik Bonitto and defensive tackle Zach Allen — Campbell owns the lowest PFF pass-blocking grade of any tackle who’s started a game this postseason.
McDaniels, New England’s offensive coordinator, wants the first-round draft pick to view those ugly outings as both a learning experience and a natural step in his development process.
“It’s never a straight line,” McDaniels said Thursday. “I think Will’s — we have a lot of young players that are playing, and they’re a lot. I think there’s a lot that’s been learned over the last two games by a lot of people, and that’s a good thing. You’re never going to go into the playoffs as a young player and just, like, dominate your matchup the entire time. That’s really difficult to imagine.
“So I think between Drake (Maye) and TreVeyon (Henderson) and Jared (Wilson) and Will and Kyle (Williams) — and I’m sure there’s guys on defense that have learned a lot, too — you’re playing against really good players. You’re playing against really good coaches. There’s going to be some ups and downs in the game that you have to persevere through, and that’s the nature of the National Football League and the postseason.”
Campbell has responded well this week, according to McDaniels, who said he’s looking forward to watching him against a Broncos defense that led the league in sack rate during the regular season.
“I’m encouraged by the way all of our guys have taken these experiences and tried to benefit from them and improve so that we might be able to play better this week and beyond,” McDaniels said. “So (I’m) encouraged. Love the way he’s responded. And again, there’s always going to be some plays that you wish you did a little bit better, but that’s across the board. I’m excited to watch him play on Sunday.”
Campbell, who turned 22 earlier this month, said Sunday’s game at Empower Field at Mile High will be “the biggest challenge yet.” He’s likely to see plenty of matchups against Bonitto, a two-time Pro Bowler who notched 14 sacks during the regular season and forced two fumbles in Denver’s divisional-round win over Buffalo.
“Bonitto is a talented player,” Campbell told reporters Wednesday. “They’ve got talented players up front. They’ve created a lot of chaos for teams this season.”