Chiefs Top Ranking Of Playoff Contenders' Special Teams Units
1. Kansas City
As if the Chiefs needed any more help to score, they have tools on special teams with which to produce more points. They boast one of the NFL's top kick returners in Tremon Smith. Smith ranks fourth in yards per return. Only one other kick returner in the playoffs ranks in the top 12, meaning that the Chiefs have a unique strength in this respect. A big aspect of Smith's return prowess is speed. He has run a 4.3 40-yard dash. His ability to return kicks is also helpful to KC's offense, which would like to have top wide receiver Tyreek Hill rested in order to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes.
Hill is KC's punt returner. His hands are reliable, so he doesn't muff any punts that he wants to fair catch. He averages 10.7 yards per return and has taken one to the house.
Harrison Butker is a reliable kicker. He has missed only two kicks since the end of October. On the season, he's 24-for-27 with a long of 54. Dustin Colquitt is KC's punter. He was selected relatively high in the NFL draft, in the third round. With him, the Chiefs rank fourth in net punting yardage.
2. New Orleans Saints
The strengths of the Saints' special teams are their punting and kicking. It's true that they have the advantage of playing inside a dome, where weather isn't a factor. But I don't mind ignoring this advantage because the Saints will play in the NFC Championship in their dome. Fittingly, they are favored by a field goal at most sports books.
Wil Lutz is 28-for-30. In three tries, his only miss in the postseason was from 50+. His long on the season, though, is 54 yards. His accuracy in shorter kicks is impeccable. Including the Divisional Round, he is 16-for-16 on kicks shorter than 40 yards and a very respectable 14-for-17 on kicks longer than 40 yards. He's 54-for-55 on extra points. Lutz is also clutch. People forget this because of the miracle that ensued, but in last year's playoff game against Minnesota, Lutz had kicked what everybody thought would be the game-winner with 25 seconds left.
The Saints' punter is Thomas Morstead, likewise an unsung hero. Last week against the Eagles, with the game threatening to fall out of reach, he was the player who suggested to coach Sean Payton that they should execute a fake punt. It worked with the help of versatile athlete Taysom Hill. In terms of actually punting, Morstead is not on Colquitt's level, but still very good. The Saints rank ninth in net punt yardage.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="de"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Taysom Hill barrels his way to a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saints?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#Saints</a> first down on 4th-and-1!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PHIvsNO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#PHIvsNO</a> <a href="https://t.co/4XPt8cFbgK">pic.twitter.com/4XPt8cFbgK</a></p>— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) <a href=" ">13. Januar 2019</a></blockquote>
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3. New England Patriots
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski was 27-for-32 on the year. That may seem poor--and indeed he's certainly no Lutz-- but he also had the disadvantage of playing in New England's poor climate and weather. The Patriots rank 17th in field goat rating, a metric which accounts for the influence of weather. They rank six spots behind KC in the category and 11 behind the Saints. New England also enjoys an above-average punting unit that ranks 10th in net punting yardage.
New England also has a strong return game. If they didn't have to face a team in Kansas City that ranks top-four in both kickoff and punt net yardage, I would rank the Patriots' special teams second. Cordarrelle Patterson's longest kickoff is two yards fewer than Tremon Smith's and he doesn't have as much total kickoff return yardage, but he does have a touchdown and he ranks third in yardage per return.
4. L.A. Rams
The Rams round out the bottom. They rank 17th in special teams DVOA with negative numbers in field goals and kick return ratings. Greg Zuerlein has a strong leg, but in the regular season he only converted 66% of his kicks that were at least 40 yards. The Rams could be in trouble if they need him to kick from distance.
1. Kansas City
As if the Chiefs needed any more help to score, they have tools on special teams with which to produce more points. They boast one of the NFL's top kick returners in Tremon Smith. Smith ranks fourth in yards per return. Only one other kick returner in the playoffs ranks in the top 12, meaning that the Chiefs have a unique strength in this respect. A big aspect of Smith's return prowess is speed. He has run a 4.3 40-yard dash. His ability to return kicks is also helpful to KC's offense, which would like to have top wide receiver Tyreek Hill rested in order to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes.
Hill is KC's punt returner. His hands are reliable, so he doesn't muff any punts that he wants to fair catch. He averages 10.7 yards per return and has taken one to the house.
Harrison Butker is a reliable kicker. He has missed only two kicks since the end of October. On the season, he's 24-for-27 with a long of 54. Dustin Colquitt is KC's punter. He was selected relatively high in the NFL draft, in the third round. With him, the Chiefs rank fourth in net punting yardage.
2. New Orleans Saints
The strengths of the Saints' special teams are their punting and kicking. It's true that they have the advantage of playing inside a dome, where weather isn't a factor. But I don't mind ignoring this advantage because the Saints will play in the NFC Championship in their dome. Fittingly, they are favored by a field goal at most sports books.
Wil Lutz is 28-for-30. In three tries, his only miss in the postseason was from 50+. His long on the season, though, is 54 yards. His accuracy in shorter kicks is impeccable. Including the Divisional Round, he is 16-for-16 on kicks shorter than 40 yards and a very respectable 14-for-17 on kicks longer than 40 yards. He's 54-for-55 on extra points. Lutz is also clutch. People forget this because of the miracle that ensued, but in last year's playoff game against Minnesota, Lutz had kicked what everybody thought would be the game-winner with 25 seconds left.
The Saints' punter is Thomas Morstead, likewise an unsung hero. Last week against the Eagles, with the game threatening to fall out of reach, he was the player who suggested to coach Sean Payton that they should execute a fake punt. It worked with the help of versatile athlete Taysom Hill. In terms of actually punting, Morstead is not on Colquitt's level, but still very good. The Saints rank ninth in net punt yardage.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="de"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Taysom Hill barrels his way to a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saints?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#Saints</a> first down on 4th-and-1!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PHIvsNO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#PHIvsNO</a> <a href="https://t.co/4XPt8cFbgK">pic.twitter.com/4XPt8cFbgK</a></p>— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) <a href=" ">13. Januar 2019</a></blockquote>
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3. New England Patriots
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski was 27-for-32 on the year. That may seem poor--and indeed he's certainly no Lutz-- but he also had the disadvantage of playing in New England's poor climate and weather. The Patriots rank 17th in field goat rating, a metric which accounts for the influence of weather. They rank six spots behind KC in the category and 11 behind the Saints. New England also enjoys an above-average punting unit that ranks 10th in net punting yardage.
New England also has a strong return game. If they didn't have to face a team in Kansas City that ranks top-four in both kickoff and punt net yardage, I would rank the Patriots' special teams second. Cordarrelle Patterson's longest kickoff is two yards fewer than Tremon Smith's and he doesn't have as much total kickoff return yardage, but he does have a touchdown and he ranks third in yardage per return.
4. L.A. Rams
The Rams round out the bottom. They rank 17th in special teams DVOA with negative numbers in field goals and kick return ratings. Greg Zuerlein has a strong leg, but in the regular season he only converted 66% of his kicks that were at least 40 yards. The Rams could be in trouble if they need him to kick from distance.
