The Denver Broncos‘ special teams units were special in Week 1.
Highlights included Broncos safety JL Skinner recovering a muffed punt, setting Denver up with good field position. Skinner also teamed up with cornerback Tremon Smith to pin the Seattle Seahawks at their own one-yard line, which led to a safety.
Overall, it was a strong showing from special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica’s unit.
“We felt like we won the keys to victory in the kicking game, just field position battle, return yardage battle, obviously we had a takeaway,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said Monday. “We felt like we had a couple of returns that were close. Overall there were a lot of positives to draw when we watched the special teams tape.
“Talking with [assistant head coach] Mike [Westhoff] and Ben and [assistant Chris] Banjo this morning, those guys were encouraged. There were a handful of guys that stood out. That’s encouraging. We’re meeting right now in the kicking game, and then we’ll flip it over to offense and defense.”
Improving special teams was one of Payton’s priorities when he arrived last year, and his staff has helped him accomplish that goal. Now, time to fix the offense …
