LOOK AT THIS F***ING PATRIOTS PUNT COVERAGE

Punting is an art. And, as Jonathan Jones and Rex Burkhead proved Sunday, so is punt coverage.

The Patriots’ special teamers paired up to bury the Pittsburgh Steelers at their own 1-yard line with a pair of tiptoeing, diving swats that turned a sure touchback into an awful situation for Ben Roethlisberger and company.

That’s Jones, typically a cornerback, busting his ass to recover from getting knocked to the turf and chase down Ryan Allen’s punt as it shot toward the end zone. His diving effort popped the ball into the air, but it was still set to fall to the ground behind the goal line — until Burkhead popped into frame. The rotational tailback walked a tightrope at the line before diving into the end zone and tipping the ball back out to the one.

Not only did Burkhead keep the ball in play, he also tipped it underneath a leaping Matthew Slater, whose momentum threatened to bat the ball back into no-man’s land. Instead, it fell to the ground deep in Steeler territory, where linebacker Ramon Humber covered it up to end the play.

That set the Steelers up at their own 1-yard line ... for exactly one play. Former Patriot Stevan Ridley took the first play of the Pittsburgh drive 12 yards to give his club some much needed breathing room. While the drive would sputter out with a Roethlisberger interception, it kept New England from building any useful momentum from a brilliant special teams play.

At the very least, Jones and Burkhead can expect some praise from their normally tight-lipped head coach when the team breaks down game film this week. There are few things in the football world Bill Belichick enjoys talking about more than punting, so the New England duo will likely be the subject of an oral history of Sunday’s massive special teams play during the team’s upcoming press conferences.