PITTSBURGH – There’s a problem brewing in New England and it puts the Patriots in uncharted territory. On Sunday, Stephen Gostkowski missed an extra point at 6:19 of the third quarter. The kicker now has five misses (three field goals and two extra points) in the last six games.

The 11-year veteran has long been one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL. The four-time Pro Bowler is coming off a 2015 season where he was named a first-team All-Pro, but the lasting memory for many is the extra point he missed in the AFC Championship Game in Denver.

For the first time in his NFL career, Gostkowski is struggling.

“I’m not scared to screw up. I’ve screwed up plenty of times in my career. It’s kind of piling on right now,” Gostkowski said. “In my position, you only get so many opportunities and that’s part of it mentally, taking advantage of the opportunities you get. I know that’s the deal coming in. News flash, this is my 11th year doing it. Right now, I just stink and I need to figure out how to get better. It’s not working out and kind of piling on. But [I’ll] hold my head high, keep working hard and keep doing the best I can as long as they keep giving me opportunities.”

Gostkowski also struggled in the preseason, missing two field goals in Carolina. He started off great in Week One, hitting three field goals with a long of 53, but over the last six games, his performance is troubling.

Gostkowski missed field goal attempts against Miami, Buffalo and Cleveland. Those three misses in five games matched all of his misses from last season. Now, his struggles are extending to extra points with Gostkowski missing two in the last two games.

“Personally, I don’t talk about why things go wrong. Obviously, there’s something going on," Gostkowski said. "I’m going to work my hardest to fix it. This is my job. I take it seriously. No one feels worse about screwing up than I do. It stinks to come in when you win and only talk about the one bad play you have, but that’s the nature of the position. You deal with it, you move on. If you don’t, that’s how it is. I’ve always held my head high and I will always go out there with confidence no matter if I miss 100 in a row.

“You’re talking about a few feet here or there and we’re not having the conversation. Just got to tighten it up and be more consistent.”

After Sunday’s game, Bill Belichick said the team wasn’t losing faith in their kicker.

"Nobody works harder than Steve does. He is a very talented player. He is mentally tough. We'll work through it,” Belichick said.