Sometimes it takes a while for a unit to gel.
For the Chiefs’ special teams unit, it looks like it took until Week 14 to hit that point. In Kansas City’s 34-28 win over the Denver Broncos, both the Chiefs’ offense and defense showed clear issues that need to be addressed, but the special teams unit had a great, consistent day overall.
The special teams subunit that saw the most action for K.C. was the punt return squad. Normally that’d cause a Chiefs fan to squirm considering how badly that area has performed in 2022, but in Week 14 punt returns were not a hindrance whatsoever. We’ll go over that, plus some notes on the other squads as well.
Additionally, check out my special teams stats, snap counts and grades for individual players via Google Sheets for a deeper look into the Chiefs’ special teams performances this season.
Punt returns: From weakness to a possible strength?
All it took was a change in personnel — and then trust in that personnel —for the punt return squad to go from a weakness to something that won’t hurt the team.
It looks like the experiment with receiver Skyy Moore at punt returner has ended, and the Chiefs have trusted WR Justin Watson with that spot moving forward. Watson had a chance to return a few punts in Weeks 12 and 13, but neither of those games came close to the amount of action he saw against Denver.
In Week 14, Watson lined up as punt returner for seven punts. He was able to actually return four of them, earning 22 yards or 5.5 yards per return. On paper, that number isn’t great. You generally want to aim for 10 yards per return, which is like earning a first down before the offense steps on the field. But much of that really wasn’t Watson’s fault — he actually ended up having a good day, mostly by taking care of the football and not being risk-averse (except for one play).
Let’s go to the film for a deeper look. Four of the Chiefs’ seven punt return snaps stood out to me:
The above was the Chiefs’ first punt return of the day. Notice that Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (No. 6, lined up on the left side of the screen in a two-point stance) threw a tremendous block on the Broncos’ gunner. (That didn’t have much to do with the outcome of the play, but I just thought it was a killer block worth pointing out.) This punt ended up bouncing in the front of the end zone, giving the Chiefs a touchback.
Right away, Watson showed the ability to track the ball with ease. He knew the punt was headed for the end zone — veteran instincts. Something simple that has unfortunately not been present in K.C.’s punt return game this season.
Next up, the Chiefs’ third punt return of the day:
This was Watson’s most risky play of the day. Both of the Chiefs’ jammers — cornerbacks Trent McDuffie (left side) and Chris Lammons (right side) — were beaten by Denver’s gunners. Watson probably should have called a fair catch, but instead fielded the punt for a one-yard gain.
Normally I’d consider giving Watson a negative grade for this sort of risky play, but it actually showed that he is confident but can also back up his confidence. I haven’t seen him come close to muffing or even bobbling any punts all season. The surehandedness means he can take this sort of risk.
Next, the Chiefs’ fifth punt return:
Watson would have actually had plenty of breathing room on this return if McDuffie was not beaten by the gunner. In fact, McDuffie as a jammer is something I have been concerned about so far this season. While his play at cornerback on defense has been tremendous, it hasn’t translated well to McDuffie as a jammer. I have McDuffie winning on only three of 16 graded punt return snaps so far this season.
I think the reason why McDuffie has struggled as a jammer is that he plays the position too much like a corner. On defense, McDuffie tends to jam early and then allow a release while staying tightly behind the receiver. Then he’ll close in and make a play on the ball. But the problem with doing this as a jammer is that the gunner isn’t trying to catch the ball — they’re trying to catch the returner.
I think McDuffie has potential as a gunner, but he’d benefit from borrowing some techniques from Lammons who often plays the position more aggressively (and much more successfully). Lammons tends to use his hands more and tries to throw the gunner off balance, using the gunner’s leverage against him and steering him away from the returner long enough to give the returner a few more seconds of breathing room.
A lack of aggression and hand-fighting can allow the gunner to garner just enough straight-line speed to cause the punt returner to think twice about returning. This often leads to a fair catch like we see above with Watson, which ends up being a positive play for the punting team.
Lastly, the Chiefs’ seventh (and final) punt return of the day:
This was a pretty good return from Watson who took it for seven yards. A more flashy returner like WR Kadarius Toney or former Chiefs/current Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill may have been able to dodge Broncos safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (No. 32) at the end, but I think this return shows that Watson isn’t necessarily a flashy, east-west runner — he’s more of a straight-line guy who takes the ball north and fights for yards.
So, based on this series of returns, here’s what we know about Watson as a returner:
- He won’t fumble the ball.
- He’ll usually call a fair catch at the right time. If he doesn’t call a fair catch when he’s crowded, his hands and instincts are good enough to hang onto the ball and move forward.
- He probably won’t try to go backwards to make a guy miss.
- He’s fast with good vision, but he probably needs good blocking in order to break a big one.
This is all good. The Chiefs don’t need Watson to be a flashy returner who scares the opposing squad. Right now, as the Chiefs try to win out and hope to gain the No. 1 seed, they just need a guy who won’t be a weakness and create unnecessary work for the rest of the team. That guy is Watson. When the playoffs hit, maybe the team can work Toney back into the mix in hopes of a big play, but right now, Watson is the safest Chiefs punt returner.
More special teams notes
A few more special teams notes for Week 14:
- He’s been relatively quiet so far, but rookie defensive back Nazeeh Johnson had an impressive tackle on kickoff coverage:
#Chiefs rookie DB Nazeeh Johnson has quietly put in more special teams work as season goes on.
Broncos KR dodged fellow rookie DBs Jaylen Watson & Joshua Williams but Johnson caught him.
NJ also saved Butker from having to make the play, who looked at least slightly relieved 😂 pic.twitter.com/fcTA4iih5S
— Wes Roesch (@WesleyRoesch) December 13, 2022
- In the play above, Johnson’s role as the L1 is to fold across the field since the ball is on the opposite side. Johnson did a tremendous job of anticipating the angle by Broncos returner Montrell Washington and made the tackle. Johnson earned an assisted tackle along with Bryan Cook on a Chiefs punt in this game as well.
- On that note, there’s a short, informative tutorial about kickoff coverage assignments by FirstDown Playbook on YouTube.
- After missing a pivotal kick against the Bengals, kicker Harrison Butker followed that up by going 2-for-2 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points in Week 14. Can he keep it up?
- The Chiefs didn’t return a single kickoff in this game. The Broncos kicked all five kickoffs in the back of the end zone for a touchback. That’s the second game in three weeks that that’s happened to the Chiefs. Are teams starting to get a bit anxious about kicking to running back/returner Isiah Pacheco?
- After four straight weeks without a special teams penalty, the Chiefs broke that streak with a Lammons holding penalty on a punt return. I guess streaks don’t last forever.
