Tag: muffed punt

Huge special teams mistake cost Steelers 7 points

Steelers’ fake punt misfire led to a Commanders TD, shifting momentum to Washington in their toughest game of the 2024 season.

It is safe to say Steelers’ CB James Pierre may be getting the cold shoulder from the Steel City, following what appeared to be a beautifully designed fake-punt call by Pittsburgh’s special teams coach Danny Smith—only for Pierre to drop the pass from special teams ace Miles Killebrew.

On fourth down, deep within the Steelers’ own 20-yard line, the shocking 18-yard pass from Killebrew seemed to catch Washington’s special teams unit off guard, and would have given Pittsburgh a crucial first down. However, due to Pierre’s botched execution, the Commanders took over in the red zone on downs.

A handful of plays later, this decision on special teams ultimately gifted Commanders RB Austin Ekeler a one-yard rushing touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 and shifting momentum away from Pittsburgh.

The special teams unit eventually rebounded in a big way, recovering a fumble off a muffed punt in the second quarter, immediately granting red-zone positioning to the Steelers offense.

Pittsburgh will need all three facets of their game to be near-perfect, as the 7-2 Commanders are their toughest opponent of the 2024 season so far.

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Saints bring back rookie returns specialist Jermaine Jackson

The Saints re-signed rookie returns ace Jermaine Jackson. He might bring an alternative on special teams after Rashid Shaheed’s muffed punt:

This is interesting. The New Orleans Saints announced a couple of changes to their practice squad on Tuesday, with rookie running back Jacob Kibodi being waived to open a spot for first-year wide receiver Jermaine Jackson.

Jackson, 5-foot-6 and 174 pounds, first signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Idaho earlier this year. But he suffered an injury during training camp and was let go from injured reserve with a settlement. Now he’s back.

It’s tough to not connect Jackson’s return to Rashid Shaheed’s big mistake against the Atlanta Falcons, muffing a punt deep in his own territory that was recovered for an opposing touchdown. Jackson was known for his skills in the return game at Idaho and picked up 604 punt return yards with 666 kick return yards, plus four return touchdowns (three off of punts, one from a kickoff).

The Saints spent big to get him in the building as a rookie free agent by guaranteeing $160,000 of his rookie contract. That’s more than some draft picks got from their teams, so they clearly valued him then and now by bringing him back for a second look now that he’s healthy.

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Rashid Shaheed made a very rare, but very costly mistake vs. Falcons

An All-Pro punt returner can’t make mistakes like this, and Rashid Shaheed isn’t known for them. But it was a costly error against the Falcons:

An All-Pro punt returner can’t make mistakes like this, and Rashid Shaheed isn’t known for them. But the New Orleans Saints specialist’s muffed punt was a costly error against the Atlanta Falcons. Shaheed made the bad call to try and field a Falcons punt inside his own 5-yard line, but an awkward angle put him too far in front of it, and he couldn’t make a clean catch.

Instead, the ball glanced off of him and  into the end zone where a flock of Falcons fell on top of it. That’s a worst-case scenario. So rather than take over inside their own territory  with a chance to take the lead, the Saints offense had to fight uphill against a deficit when they finally got on the field.

Hopefully Shaheed learned from this mistake. His coaches trusted him to go back in the game and receive the ensuing kickoff, so they clearly expect him to bounce bac. Now it’s on him to prove that faith is warranted.

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Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman on muffed punt vs. Broncos: ‘I got greedy, I got selfish’

#Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman took accountability for his muffed punt against the #Broncos, telling reporters that he “got greedy”

Mecole Hardman’s struggles on punt returns are well documented, even if he has made some incredible plays for the Kansas City Chiefs on punt returns. The team’s Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos was defined by miscues in every phase of the game, but Hardman’s muffed punt late in the game was one of the more egregious mistakes that led to the bad defeat.

Hardman spoke to the media after the contest and was contrite in his response to a question about the mistake that cost Kansas City a chance to keep the game close. In his comments, he left no doubt that he only has himself to blame for the special teams turnover.

“I got greedy; I got selfish,” He explained. “Trying to make a play down there. Should have been a fair catch or let the ball bounce. That’s [a] problem, like the reason that we probably lost the game. I just let that thing go or fair catch it and secure the catch. I believe we were still down eight—five.

“That’s probably the one [play] that cost the game for us. I’ll probably take responsibility for that one. I definitely take responsibility actually for losing that game. Because you never know,[I] let that ball go, I catch it at the five-[yard-line] or wherever it was, and we go down to score and that’s it. So I’ve just got to be more smart.”

Kansas City has been on the lookout for a contributor who can help buoy the punt return unit and seemed to have thought that Hardman was ready to jump back into the fray after the Chiefs acquired him via trade earlier in October.

Now, the team may have to reconsider their approach on special teams. General manager Brett Veach would be wise to assess his options on the trade market to find a player whom Kansas City can rely on in key situations on punt returns.

Special teams miscues ‘bugging the heck’ out of Pete Carroll, Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have been struggling on special teams as of late and are working to tighten up the unit and rectify the miscues.

The Seattle Seahawks have had relatively consistent special teams play over the years, but things have looked a bit different in the last couple of games.

“Golly, it’s just bugging the heck out of all of us because we are really good on teams on 98% of it, but then we have a play that wrecks the game for you in a sense,” coach Pete Carroll said during his Monday press conference. “We really have had those almost disastrous plays that just don’t fit us at all.”

From muffed punts to botched returns and fumbles and Michael Dickson’s snafu in the end zone on Sunday, the struggles have been real.

“We are working hard, we made a big plea to the guys that we have to clean up every snap, not just some here or some there,” Carroll continued. “We’ve been really consistent with our coverage and the kickers are doing well, so it’s unfortunate. Mike’s decision last week and then this one, we just made a real error on the one that happened this week. Man, those are big plays.

“We are going to do everything in our power to fix it.”

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