Special teams were rather uneventful for the Chiefs in their Week 11 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but maybe that’s a good thing.
After all, when something is eventful on special teams, it’s either bad (like a fumble) or great (like a return touchdown). Unfortunately, it’s been more of the former than the latter for the Chiefs, but luckily it was neither on Sunday night.
This will be a rather short review compared to my previous ones, but I do have a few things to note. Additionally, make sure to check out my special teams stats, snap counts and grades for individual players via Google Sheets to get a better idea of how and where Chiefs players have performed on special teams during the season.
Kick returns: Isiah Pacheco does an oops, Michael Burton and Marcus Kemp do a good
The Chiefs’ kick return game was quiet, with four of six ending up as touchbacks. The two returns are worth showing because they ended up being a bit unconventional.
First up is rookie running back Isiah Pacheco’s only kick return of the day. It wasn’t much of a return, really, because he immediately took it out of bounds at the Kansas City six-yard line:
This was simply a rookie mistake by Pacheco who should have let the ball bounce. There’s a good chance it either would have bounced back to the end zone for a touchback or bounced out of bounds which would have resulted in a penalty for the Chargers and given the Chiefs the ball at the 25-yard line*. He also could have simply had a foot out of bounds while fielding the kick and the penalty would have been enforced the same.
I’ve cut special teams coordinator Dave Toub a bit of slack this season because he has a young, inexperienced squad — nine out of 11 rookies have seen significant special teams snaps this season. Not to mention the number of injuries and changes the unit has had to go through. But this was something simple that Toub should have his returners more prepared for, so this “oops” is really on Toub.
The Chiefs’ other return of the day was interesting because it was a short kick to fullback Michael Burton, who actually did a great job returning:
Burton actually gained 20 yards on this return, which is difficult to do when the ball is kicked short since defenders are typically right in a returner’s face on short kicks.
Thankfully, the blocking was solid which led to a good return. There’s one block in particular worth pointing out: receiver Marcus Kemp (No. 85) laid the wood on Chargers linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (No. 57). You can get a good look at the block on the end zone angle of the play — check the above video starting at the 12-second mark.
*Update: I previously said the 40-yard line, but that would be inaccurate: the rule is that if the kicking team kicks the ball out of bounds before the receiving team touches it, the receiving team gets the ball 25 yards from the spot of the kick. That’s normally the 40-yard line, but in this case it would have been the Chiefs’ 25-yard line due to the Chargers kicking from the 50-yard line (thanks to a penalty by Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton that was enforced on the kickoff).
More special teams notes
A few more special teams notes to round out Week 11:
- Rejoice! Harrison Butker went 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points. It’s the first game in which he’s made all of his kicks since Week 1. Maybe he’s back to normal?
- Receiver Kadarius Toney returned another punt but got injured and was replaced by WR Skyy Moore for the rest of the day. Toney’s return went for five yards:
- Toney really hasn’t had a chance to shine on punt returns yet because his blocking hasn’t been good and the kicks have been unfavorable. Hopefully, when he’s back from injury he gets more opportunities.
- Toub said that with Toney out, guys like Moore, WR Justin Watson and cornerback Trent McDuffie will receive consideration at punt returner. McDuffie is an interesting option, but he might be too valuable to risk injury as a returner. It may be smarter to see what Watson has to offer since he has proved to be versatile on offense and special teams.
