FOXBORO — Matthew Slater liked the way the Patriots didn’t waver after a 1-2 start and credits their steadfast approach for reeling off three straight wins in a span of 15 days to move into a tie for first place in the AFC East.

"We just continued to trust our process and go about our business the only way we know how," Slater said following the latest and wildest win, 43-40, over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6. "That’s hard work, good [...]

FOXBORO — Matthew Slater liked the way the Patriots didn’t waver after a 1-2 start and credits their steadfast approach for reeling off three straight wins in a span of 15 days to move into a tie for first place in the AFC East.

“We just continued to trust our process and go about our business the only way we know how,” Slater said following the latest and wildest win, 43-40, over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6. “That’s hard work, good preparation, and trying to compete and execute on Sundays.”

The offense has averaged 39.7 points and the defense did its job for eight of a possible 12 quarters — whiffing in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts and Chiefs — during the winning streak, which the Patriots will look to extend against the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.

Meanwhile, the special teams play has been uncharacteristically uneven with the exception of kicker Stephen Gostkowski (20 of 20 on extra points, 12 of 13 field goals).

Nowhere has that been more negatively noticeable and impactful than kick coverage.

“Brutal,” Slater said after the Chiefs’ Tremon Smith ripped off returns of 33 and 97 yards to spark scoring drives that totaled 10 points.

The Patriots ranked anywhere from second to sixth in the league the past six seasons in kick coverage as they routinely set the defense up with advantageous field position. They’re 32nd — that’s dead last — this year.

On average, opposing offenses have started drives at their 28.5-yard line. That’s nearly 5 yards more than last year, a hefty difference in a league where inches often determine the final outcome.

“I think for us a lot of it comes down to playing with good fundamentals and being able to use our hands a little bit better to get off blocks, playing together, covering as a unit and making sure we see the play the same way,” Slater said Thursday.

“So we’ve spent a lot of time on that this week. I still have a lot of faith in confidence in our group and how we can play. We’ve just got to start doing it.”

On Smith’s 97-yard return, Slater was locked up before being pushed aside, Brandon King and Patrick Chung didn’t disengage from their blockers, and Devin McCourty took a bad angle. McCourty did recover and pursued Smith down the right sideline before pushing him out of bounds at the New England 3.

The Chiefs scored three plays later to take a 33-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter of a game they would eventually lose.

It was the longest kick return against the Patriots since C.J. Spiller broke loose for 95 yards and a touchdown for the Buffalo Bills in Week 3 in 2010.

“It’s a big play,” Slater said. “At that time in the game you can’t give up a big play like that. That kills your football team. It puts your defense in a terrible position. Essentially, we gave up a touchdown. Let’s just call it what it is.”

What’s surprising about the lapses in coverage is the Patriots returned special-teams coach Joe Judge and a slew of core special teamers, including Slater, King, Nate Ebner, Nicholas Grigsby, Jonathan Jones, and Jacob Hollister.

That carryover from last year has been offset by multiple factors.

“We’re playing new teams; there’s different matchups,” coach Bill Belichick said. “Look, every kick in this league is different. They’re not all the same. You match up different kicks with different returns.

“We have a basic way we do things but we’re obviously not getting it done well enough. We need to do a better job of coaching it and a better job of executing it.”

The league’s latest rule changes for kickoffs also may be a factor in the Patriots plunging to the bottom of the league rankings while allowing five returns of 30-plus yards. That’s one less than in the previous three seasons combined.

The coverage team now must line up within a yard of the 35, so no more running starts as Gostkowski approaches a teed-up ball.

“I think it’s definitely slowed that down a little bit, maybe a step or so, 40 yards later or 30 yards later,” Belichick said. “There have been rules on both sides. … It is what it is.”

Slater, who has served as special-teams captain since 2010, understands it’s not always going to go as planned, but still believes the Patriots have one of the elite coverage units in the league, no matter what the stats say.

“I know we’ve given up a couple of 30-yarders here and there, but it’s funny how one play kind of changes the narrative,” he said. “So we’re not really buying into that. We’re going to keep working at it and keep trying to get better.”

That means not wavering as the Patriots continue to trust the process.