Special teams was a plus for the Chiefs in their 24-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks, with only a couple of small blunders from the unit in Week 16.
It’s a good sign that Kansas City has strung together multiple quality performances in a row this late in the season, especially up against such good competition. The Chiefs’ last two opponents — the Seahawks and Houston Texans — boast the No. 1 and 2 special teams units, respectively, in DVOA by Football Outsiders.
The Chiefs’ special teams performance against Seattle was particularly noteworthy because it featured a couple of game-saving plays from familiar faces which we’ll highlight in this review. There were also some new faces introduced to the unit which we’ll discuss (plus more) in the notes section.
Make sure to browse my special teams stats, snap counts and grades for individual players via Google Sheets as well for a closer look at player performances. I recently added a “totals” column in the stats section which tallies a bunch of stats that are difficult to find elsewhere.
Kickoff coverage: One big blunder and one big correction
Kickoff coverage is a strong subunit for Kansas City, ranking sixth in DVOA. Its trademark has been not allowing any big plays this season — before Week 16, the Chiefs’ kickoff coverage had not allowed a returner to make it past the 50-yard line.
Well, that streak ended against the Seahawks when returner Godwin Igwebuike took the Chiefs’ first kickoff of the day 48 yards to the Chiefs’ 48-yard line. It was a major whiff by K.C.’s entire squad which overpursued hard and missed the initial tackle:
Two of the biggest culprits were defensive backs Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams as the R4 and R5, respectively. Watson failed to maintain proper leverage on the attack and allowed Igwebuike to speed past him while Williams just straight up missed the free tackle completely.
Luckily, kicker Harrison Butker was able to chase Igwebuike out to the perimeter and slow him down long enough for linebacker Jack Cochrane to recover and make the tackle. This play didn’t end up being a big deal as the Seahawks turned the ball over on downs following the big return.
The 48-yard return was the worst play of the day for the Chiefs’ special teams unit, but the kickoff coverage squad redeemed itself on its next kickoff. Receiver Justin Watson, who lined up as the L3, made a terrific play:
I can’t stress enough how difficult it is to sprint at full speed, maintain a proper angle on the returner and make an opposite-field tackle, yet Justin made it look easy on the play above. It turns out he has more special teams skills than just returning punts.
Kick returns: Deon Bush recovers an onside
Onside kicks are always stress-inducing even for the return team because, although they only have a four to 20 percent success rate, there’s still a chance the kicking team recovers and stays in the game. The Chiefs haven’t allowed an onside kick to be recovered this season, although they came close in Week 2.
The Seahawks ran an onside kick late in the fourth quarter after scoring a touchdown and cutting their deficit to 14 points. Here’s how the Chiefs lined up on the return:
This is basically the same formation and personnel the team has used on onside kick returns this year, with one major change: receiver Kadarius Toney replaced tight end, Jody Fortson, as the right backer.
It’s a notable change because you generally want someone tall in that role to go after kicks that bounce high. Fortson is 6-foot-4 while Toney is 6-foot, but it’s a welcome change because, while Toney is shorter, he has sure hands and boasts a 40-inch vertical. He’s also much quicker than Fortson, making Toney a great option in that spot.
Toney didn’t end up getting any action on this play, though, as the ball was kicked directly to safety Deon Bush:
There’s not much to highlight from this film other than the fact that it was a great recovery by Bush. Being the center defender on onside kicks is tough because the ball coming toward you means you probably won’t receive much blocking, so you’ll likely get hit quickly. Bush braced for the hit properly and held on to the ball, giving his offense a chance to seal the game.
Punt returns: Chris Lammons saves team from huge mistake
Punt returns weren’t flashy for the Chiefs in Week 16 but weren’t poor either. Toney lined up as a returner on all five punts, returning two for 18 yards and earning an average field position of the 35-yard line overall. Not a bad day for Toney and the punt return squad.
However, there was one small rookie mistake that was thankfully corrected:
Seen at the :09-second mark, Cochrane accidentally touched the ball which made it “live,” so the Seahawks could have recovered it which would have given them great field position.
Luckily, cornerback and veteran special teamer Chris Lammons showed tremendous field awareness and instincts by immediately scooping up the ball and giving the Chiefs possession. In another universe, this play could have gone sideways for K.C., but luckily we don’t reside there.
More special teams notes
Just a few more quick notes to finish up:
- Defensive lineman Danny Shelton made his special teams debut for the Chiefs, playing two snaps on the field goal/extra point blocking subunit. Not much happened there but he did show a good amount of effort on those two plays.
- Tight end Blake Bell also returned and replaced Fortson as the team’s right backer on one normal kickoff return (not the onside kick return). Bell played a lot of special teams last season so expect to see him on the unit aplenty moving forward.
- Butker didn’t miss any kicks — hooray!
- Safety Nazeeh Johnson has made a special teams tackle for three straight weeks. He’s really starting to come alive down the stretch.
- I continue to be impressed with Williams as a vice jammer on punt returns. He has been so good there that I’m not sure why special teams coordinator Dave Toub doesn’t line up Williams as the main jammer opposite Lammons. I’m hoping to see that one of these days.
- Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend was selected for the 2023 Pro Bowl Games as the first Pro Bowl nod of his three-year career. It’s a much-deserved selection, too, as Townsend boasts the league’s best net punting average at 45.5 yards per punt.
