Where did the Indianapolis Colts’ special teams unit rank among the rest of the NFL?
While the third phase of the game can often be forgotten about, elements such as capitalizing on field goal opportunities and flipping the field with either a big punt or an explosive return can all factor into determining the outcome of a game.
To determine these rankings, Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated looked at how each special teams unit ranked across five key categories: net punting, opponent net punting, kickoff return, kickoff coverage, and field goal percentage.
He then took each team’s rankings for the 2024 season in each of those categories, added them up, and the team with the lowest total and the best overall special teams unit and the team with the highest total had the worst.
When it comes to the Colts, as seems to be the case with a lot of things, and what you’d expect from an 8-9 team, they were just below the league average, finishing 18th in these composite rankings.
Net punting: The Colts finished eighth in this category, thanks to punter Rigoberto Sanchez, who averaged nearly 50 yards per attempt this season. And not to be forgotten about is the coverage team, led by Ashton Dulin, who helped limit return opportunities.
Opponent net punting: The Colts ranked 20th here. In terms of opportunities, Josh Downs ranked 27th in return attempts and his average of 10.1 yards per return ranked 18th. Late in the season, we did see strides from rookie Anthony Gould in this role.
Kickoff return: Again, in terms of opportunities, the Colts didn’t have many. Gould led the team with just seven. He did, however, rank 15th in yards per attempt with nearly 30. The Colts ranked 14th in this category.
Kickoff coverage: The Colts ranked 31st in this category. The good news is that the Colts didn’t give up many returns with Matt Gay having the fifth-lowest return rate last season. However, the Colts surrendered the most yards per return, including a touchdown.
Field goal percentage: The Colts were 15th here–right in the middle of the pack. Gay made 100% of his extra point attempts and ranked 24th making 83.8% of his field goal attempts, but again struggled from 50-plus yards.
