The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions once again, and this time it was partially due to special teams play.
That’s not something anyone expected after the volatile season that coordinator Dave Toub’s unit had in 2022. Some of the Chiefs’ special teams subunits were downright bad during the regular season, with the punt return squad performing the worst.
However, it was the Chiefs’ punt return squad that put the team in position to take a larger lead against the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII, just two weeks after it did the exact same thing in the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals. So after all of this season’s trials and tribulations, the Chiefs’ punt return squad figured things out when it mattered most.
With our final Chiefs special teams film review of the 2022-23 season, we will highlight the astonishing fourth-quarter punt return by receiver/returner Kadarius Toney in Super Bowl 57. Following this review, be on the lookout for our final full-season Chiefs special teams review coming in the next couple of weeks, where I’ll dive further into the stats, snap counts and grades for individual players that I compiled during the season.
Yep, the Kadarius Toney trade was absolutely worth it
In October, the Chiefs traded a 2023 third- and a sixth-round pick to the New York Giants for Toney, who had largely remained unused in New York due to frequent injuries. Simply put, Toney didn’t work out with the Giants, and he needed a fresh start.
Well, it’s a great thing that the Chiefs gave Toney that fresh start, because they may not have won the Super Bowl without him. Sure, the Chiefs’ offense was rolling in the second half and the team led by a point with 10:39 to go in the fourth quarter, but no points or yards are guaranteed. Instead of the offense needing to drive 70 yards downfield, Toney took matters into his own hands, allowing the offense to only need to drive five yards for a score.
Here’s the play:
A 65-yard punt return, the team’s longest of the year by far. The second-longest was 22 yards by Mecole Hardman.
Toney should have only gained about seven yards on this return. If you pause the above video at the :09-second mark, you’ll see seven unblocked Eagles defenders in Toney’s vicinity.
I still can't believe Kadarius Toney made it to the 5-yard line on this play. pic.twitter.com/BaJPSU2S46
— Wes Roesch (@WesleyRoesch) February 15, 2023
With Eagles receiver Zach Pascal close to making the tackle, the rest of the Eagles’ punt coverage squad just sort of… stopped and waited for the tackle to happen. And then it didn’t. Toney slipped and pulled to his right and changed the entire trajectory of the return. Suddenly, most of the Eagles’ defenders appeared to be running through mud trying to catch up with Toney sprinting to the other side of the field.
While the initial juke was all Toney’s doing, the rest of the play wouldn’t have succeeded as well as it did without three key players: tight end Jody Fortson, receiver Marcus Kemp and safety Bryan Cook. Those three absolutely hustled to make huge blocks and open holes for Toney to take this one close to the house.
The end zone angle provides a good look at this, starting at the :10-second mark:
Each one of those blocks gave Toney about five to 10 more yards of room to gain upfield. Toney’s final twirl at the eight-yard line to back his way into three more yards was the chef’s kiss.
Here’s another high-level sideline angle, with the second half of the return, slowed down for a better view of how the blocks fell into place:
Earlier this season, I questioned whether Toney was the right option for the Chiefs’ punt returner position after his fumble in Week 17. I preferred receiver Justin Watson, who proved to be safe, though not as explosive.
After this play, it’s safe to say I was wrong. As good of an asset Watson was for the Chiefs in 2022, he probably wouldn’t have made this play. That’s not a knock on Watson at all — most players wouldn’t have made this play. But Toney boasts just the right balance of explosion, athleticism and bounce (I’m not sure there’s a better term for this — Toney is just… bouncy) to make these types of plays when the Chiefs need them most.
The best part is the Chiefs have Toney on a rookie deal for the next two — possibly three — seasons. I don’t know if Toney will be the Chiefs’ main punt returner in 2023. But I know, after this play in the Super Bowl, he’ll be first in consideration.
More special teams notes
A few more notes as we round out our Chiefs 2022-23 special teams film review series:
- Both sides of the kickoff game were uneventful in the Super Bowl, as it should have been. Nobody wanted to kick to anyone, and nobody wanted to return any kicks. 12 of the game’s 13 kickoffs ended in touchbacks. The lone return was the Chiefs’ squib kick at the end of the game which went for 11 yards before the Eagles’ returner kneeled to save time. Also uneventful.
- Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed a 42-yard field goal but made up for it later by nailing the game-winner at 27 yards. It was a rough year for Butker who finished with a career-worst 75 percent field goal percentage as he struggled with injuries and dodgy holds, but a great way for him to cap off the season.
- Of course, rookie defensive back Nazeeh Johnson earned a tackle on punt coverage in this game. Johnson earned at least one special teams tackle in seven of the team’s final eight games of the year (including postseason).
