While there were some positive takeaways, special teams was mostly a mess for the Chiefs in their Week 10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Chiefs fumbled on a kick return, allowed over 70 return yards in kickoff coverage, and missed yet another extra point. Plus, there was a weird punt return fumble that didn’t end up actually being a fumble at all.
The biggest storyline, however, was the Chiefs’ punt return subunit, which placed newly-acquired receiver Kadarius Toney at punt returner. This week’s focus will be on Toney’s punt returns plus that non-fumble mentioned earlier, and then we’ll finish up with a few notes about the rest of the special teams squad.
In addition to this film review, make sure to check out my special teams stats, snap counts and grades for individual players via Google Sheets.
Punt returns, part I: Wait, what happened?
Before we dive into Toney’s returns, let’s talk about that weird punt return touchback in the first quarter that almost looked like a fumble by the Chiefs. It wasn’t a fumble, luckily, but how? Here’s the video of the play from all angles:
Jacksonville’s punt dropped at the Chiefs’ five-yard line and then hit Jaguars cornerback Chris Claybrooks (No. 6) in the head. After it touched Claybrooks, Chiefs cornerback Chris Lammons (No. 29) attempted to pick up the ball and return it, but he bobbled it. The ball ended up being recovered in the end zone by Jaguars’ long snapper Ross Matiscik (No. 46).
Matiscik’s recovery made it a touchback, giving the Chiefs the ball at their own 20-yard line. But why was this ruled a touchback and not ruled a Chiefs fumble and Jaguars touchdown? The answer lies in the NFL’s rulebook. From rule 9, section 2, article 2:
‘First touching’ is when a player of the kicking team touches a scrimmage kick in the field of play that is beyond the line of scrimmage before it has been touched by a player of the receiving team beyond the line. If the ball is first touched by a player of the kicking team, it remains in play. First touching is a violation, and the receivers shall have the option of taking possession of the ball at the spot of first touching … or at the spot where the ball is dead.
Basically, if the punting team touches the ball first when it passes the line of scrimmage, the ball remains in play. And since it’s technically a violation for the punting team to touch the ball first, the receiving team gets the ball no matter what happens afterward (as long as there’s no penalty to complicate things).
That is why Lammons played the ball, which was live after the Jaguars had touched it first. By rule the ball could not go to the Jaguars even if Lammons had fumbled it. So picking it up and trying for more yards was a no-brainer.
The funny thing is that Lammons dropping the ball actually helped the Chiefs. Had he held onto it, he likely would have been tackled inside the five-yard line. Dropping it made Jaguars defenders attempt to recover, and they ended up downing it in the end zone, resulting in a touchback. This touchback rule is reinforced by the NFL’s rule 9, section 3, article 2, item 3:
If a player of the kicking team illegally catches or recovers a scrimmage kick … and touches the goal line with any part of his body while in possession of the ball, the ball is dead, and the result of the play is a touchback.
Confusing? A little bit, but just remember: if the punting team touches the ball first (and there’s no penalty during the play), the receiving team gets the ball no matter what.
Punt returns, part II: Kadarius Toney teases, but has yet to shine
When the Chiefs signed Toney during the bye, some speculated his role to be nothing more than a special teamer. It turns out his presence on offense has been stronger thus far — he earned a total of 90 yards and a touchdown on six touches against the Jaguars.
His special teams role, meanwhile, is still developing. The Chiefs decided to use him as their main punt returner for all six punt return plays in Week 10. Toney only had a chance to return two of those, though.
Toney’s first return was a strange one. The ball bounced around the Kansas City 15-yard line and looked like it was about to go out of bounds. Toney decided to sneak around a Jaguars defender and pick up the ball around the seven-yard line, returning it for seven yards:
This was a risky play due to the potential for a fumble. However, Toney showed good instincts and seemed to handle the ball with ease. He picked up speed quickly, too, giving the Chiefs a few extra yards before the rest of the Jaguars’ punt coverage squad closed in.
Toney tried almost the same thing later in the game with his second return. Instead of letting the ball bounce, he picked it up at the three-yard line and returned it for four yards:
Toney tried to make a bit too much happen during the above play. He probably should have let it bounce into the end zone, or at least committed to running right and using his speed to shake Jaguars tight end Dan Arnold (No. 85) instead of hitting the spin move directly into more traffic.
Toney’s two Week 10 punt returns totaled just 11 yards. It’s clear we haven’t seen the full potential of Toney’s punt return ability, but there are a few things we can take away from these clips:
- Toney is confident, so he will probably always bank on his athletic ability when he can. That may entail making split decisions that could end up backfiring.
- Toney has tremendous hands, which makes him less likely to fumble the ball than Skyy Moore and Mecole Hardman, two fumble-prone returners.
- Toney’s running tendencies mirror Tyreek Hill’s, who loves to use his speed and agility to move east, west, and sometimes even south. So don’t be surprised to see Toney moving backward at times on returns.
- Since he didn’t get a chance to truly shine on punt returns in Week 10, it’s almost a guarantee he’ll continue punt return duties next week and in the near future.
More special teams notes
Let’s round this thing out with a few more special teams notes:
- A positive: After committing four penalties in Week 9, the Chiefs’ special teams unit did not commit a penalty in Week 10. That’s a good sign moving forward.
- Safety Ugo Amadi made his debut for the Chiefs and was featured heavily on special teams. He had five snaps on kickoff coverage, two snaps on punt returns and two snaps on punt coverage. He actually did a solid job too, earning an assisted tackle on kickoff coverage and downing a punt on punt coverage.
- Tight end Jody Fortson fielded a short kickoff and actually had a good return. . . and then he fumbled. If you can’t hang onto the ball, you’re better off just taking a knee.
- After awesome showings in Weeks 7 and 9, the Chiefs’ kickoff coverage was pretty bad in Week 10. It allowed an average field position of the Jags’ 36-yard line on two returns. I’d chalk at least one of those returns up to the lack of Lammons, who suffered a concussion earlier in the game. It’ll be a blow to the special teams unit if Lammons can’t play next week.
- Rookie linebacker Jack Cochrane has low-key been a stud lately, coming close to blocking punts two weeks in a row. Fortson almost blocked one, too.
- Ah, Harrison Butker. That’s four games in a row with a missed field goal or extra point. Is that ankle of his still hurting? What’s the deal? Special teams coordinator Dave Toub said he’s not worried about it, but. . . we are.
