One overlooked downside to injuries in football is their effect on special teams.
Of course, injuries hurt the offense and defense as well, but special teams can sometimes suffer even more. Why? Because, much of the time, players who fill in on offense and defense have received significant — albeit not starter-level — snaps. Meanwhile, players who fill in on special teams are often inexperienced practice squad players who have barely seen the field.
That inexperience can lead to rough results. It definitely did during the Chiefs’ 24-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6. With safety Bryan Cook out due to concussion symptoms, Zayne Anderson filled in on special teams. The results were not great.
However, that lack of depth can make way for new players to shine. That happened in Week 6 as well. We’ll discuss that, plus review how injuries have hurt the Chiefs’ kick return subunit this whole year, not just in Week 6. Additionally, my special teams stats, snap counts and grades for individual players are available via Google Sheets.