Patriots cornerback Alex Austin hauls in revenge interception in return to Buffalo

Rookie cornerback Alex Austin was drafted by the Buffalo Bills back in April. But when he returned to Orchard Park on Sunday, he did so as the enemy. After signing with the New England Patriots back in November, Austin has been thrusted into a larger role of late. Appearing in just his third game with his new team on Sunday, the 22 year old played like he belonged back in Buffalo.

“I approach every game like it’s a big one, so I prepare the same, but for sure I was a little bit more comfortable out there knowing that I was with this team before,” Austin said post game. “Seeing those receivers, I practiced plenty of times during our training camp. So it has some little bit of comfort out there for me for sure.” Austin’s afternoon was highlighted by his first career interception, in which he made a strong play to pass off his post route to safety Jalen Mills and fall off to assist on the wheel route — where he was then able to go up and high point Josh Allen’s pass.

“I got to give a shout out to the coaches and the defense man, that was a play that we were talking about all week,” he explained. “And just when I got, when I saw the post, I looked behind me and I felt the wheel behind me. So shout out to the coaching staff and the guys around me for making sure I was prepared.” That first career pick is a beauty, Alex Austin : #NEvsBUF on CBS pic.twitter.com/LBtyCOPrcb While Austin’s preparation during practice throughout the week helped set up the play, it was no surprise he finished it off based off his practice performances.

“He has shown us great ability to cover receivers. He’s had multiple success picking the ball off or punching the ball out in the drills we do in practice,” captain Deatrich Wise said. “He’s doing a great job everyday. He’s showing up on tape doing great things. I knew it was only a matter of time when that ball was coming his way.

He’s been doing it everyday in practice, so he did just that.” Outside of Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones, New England’s cornerback room has plenty of question marks entering the offseason. While they're have been growing pains on his third team this season, the 6 foot 1 Austin has shown flashes of intriguing play down the stretch as he’s perhaps playing himself into a role with the team next season.

“Now that I’m able to get my reps playing, it helped me get some comfortability because I haven’t had a lot of reps from being at other teams,” Austin said..