Generally, the last thing you want to see as a football team is your punter. If your punter’s on the field, it’s an acknowledgment the offense failed, and you’re playing the field position battle. When it comes to Bills’ rookie Matt Araiza — often known as the “Punt God” to football fans — Buffalo might have a punter they’ll come to enjoy watching.
During the Bills’ preseason matchup against the Colts (-1.5), a stalled-out late second-quarter possession brought Araiza onto the field. Rather than hope for a good roll or a normal booming kick, the rookie let off an absolute 82-yard bomb from Buffalo’s eight-yard line.
Words certainly don’t do the Punt God’s incredible talents in this play justice:
🚨82-YARD PUNT ALERT🚨
📺: @nflnetwork | WIVB pic.twitter.com/UNib6Zv2lM
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 13, 2022
Matt Araiza with an 82 yard punt, #PUNTGOD pic.twitter.com/bHyEBSyFFr
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 13, 2022
Good lord. There’s playing for field position; then there’s pinning a team deep in their own end even though your offense barely moved the ball. For additional context, if this was a regular season, it’d be the longest NFL punt in almost a decade. Now, yes, it was a touchback, but who cares! 82 yards!
The Punt God has officially arrived as an NFL player, and we are not all worthy of his tremendous leg.