Power Ranking the Best Special Teams Units Remaining in the NFL Divisional Round

Of the teams remaining in the NFL divisional round, special teams play hasn’t always been a high point this season. However, the good thing about every playoff game is that it represents a chance to start again with a clean record.

If anyone needed further evidence of the importance of special teams, Kyle Williams’ errors last year in the NFC Championship game put the matter to rest. The San Francisco 49ers return to the playoffs this year, and will need a better contribution from their special teams unit.

However, they are not the only team in need of inspiration in that area. Let’s get straight into the power rankings for all teams in the NFL divisional round this weekend.

8. Houston Texans

The deficiencies of the Texans’ special teams play was never more obvious than during the 28-16 loss to the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Colts kick returner Deji Karim found a hole in the Texans’ defensive coverage and ran 101 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. These sorts of errors have been commonplace for Houston this year and won’t be tolerated in the playoffs.

When speaking to The Houston Chronicle, special teams player Bryan Braman—who has 15 solo special teams tackles this year—outlined the plan for a better outcome:

"

We've just got to work on being consistent. There's things that at times we do well, and there's things that obviously we don't do very well. Like coach (Gary Kubiak) was saying after the game, there's things that we've got to take a hard look at.

"

Kicker Shayne Graham also missed a field goal in the Colts game, and although a 52-yard miss is somewhat understandable, these things can ruin momentum and spark a comeback from the opposing team.

Right now the Texans always seem one step away from giving up a big play, which isn't good enough.

7. San Francisco 49ers

Between their erratic kicker and questionable return man, the 49ers will be praying that their game against the Green Bay Packers doesn’t come down to special teams contributions.

David Akers has been poor, but bringing in Billy Cundiff doesn’t make the kicking position any more comforting. Akers has missed a kick in each of his last three games, and Cundiff was cut from the Redskins after becoming totally unreliable, even from short distances.

Ted Ginn Jr. has also had problems in the return game. If forced into a high-pressure situation where the team needs good field position, he looks likely to make a mistake. Any more problems on punt and kick returns and San Francisco’s season will be over very quickly.

Giving Eli Manning extra chances to win the game last year was inadvisable, but faced with Aaron Rodgers on the other side of the ball, the special teams unit has to be flawless in its play execution.

The Niners look far from flawless at the moment, which is a worry.

6. Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons face the Seahawks, so stopping Leon Washington will be the priority for the special teams unit. Chris Hope and Robert James head up the coverage unit; look for them both to zone in on Washington and limit his production.

Running back Jacquizz Rodgers has proven his worth on kickoff returns this year and now gets the chance to make some plays as part of the offense.

On special teams, Rodgers returned kicks for 592 yards over the course of the season at an average of 25.7 yards per return. At 5’6” and196 pounds, Rodgers has good speed and the potential to reel off a big return.

The Falcons don’t have a bad special teams unit by any means, but the fact that they play the Seahawks will limit their production in this area.

5. New England Patriots

In a wavering year for Patriots special teamers, Matthew Slater has been consistently impressive with 20 special teams tackles. He has been ably supported by Nate Ebner with 17 and Mike Rivera with 12.

The kicking has sometimes let the team down, and Stephen Gostkowski has missed his fair share of opportunities, including a potential game-winner against the Cardinals early in the season.

Gostkowski fared better as the year went on, making eight of his final nine field goals in the regular season.

Kick returner Devin McCourty has the capacity for big plays, having already racked up a 104-yard touchdown return against the Jets this year.

Wes Welker took over on punt returns when Julian Edelman’s season was ended by injury, and the veteran receiver has posted 243 yards at an average of 9.7 per return.

The Pats have the tools to get the job done, and they seem to have gotten their poor form out of the way in the early part of the season.

4. Green Bay Packers

Despite the 49ers’ frailties at the kicker position, the Packers have their own problems in that area. Mason Crosby was exceptional last year, so it was perhaps unreasonable to expect the same level of consistency this year.

However, the midseason slump Crosby suffered was bad enough that people began to call for his dismissal from the team. When it got to the point where he had made just 12 of his previous 24 kicks, the situation looked desperate (via The Wisconsin Rapids Tribune).

However, the Packers kept faith with him and he has looked better in recent weeks, making his last five attempts.

The rest of the Packers’ special teams unit has been steadily improving over the last few years. Shawn Slocum and Chad Morton have assembled a group of players that is committed to special teams play, and in Randall Cobb they have a returner who can make plays to change the game.

Punter Tim Masthay has also been effective, beating his own team record for net average (38.9) and ranking seventh in the NFL (via PackersNews.com).

3. Denver Broncos

The Broncos have been one of the league’s most consistent special teams units for most of this year, but the season has not been without its flaws.

Punt returners Trindon Holliday and Jim Leonhard are guys that most teams would love to have on their roster, but both have suffered lapses of concentration that could cost the Broncos in a playoff situation.

Kyle Williams’ mistakes are going to be played a lot to Holliday and Leonhard, as both players have fumbled punt returns.

As reported by The Denver Post, Holliday fumbled and dropped a punt against San Diego, dropped a punt against Oakland, fumbled against Cleveland and then fumbled a kickoff out of bounds against Baltimore. The good news is that in all but one of these instances, Denver recovered the ball.

This can’t be expected to happen every time, though, so Holliday needs to stay sharp.

Of course, this is offset by the fact that Holliday was the best punt returner in the NFL over the course of the regular season, with 481 yards at an average of 10.2 per return. He also had 552 yards on kickoff returns, averaging 26.3 yards per return.

The Broncos have a great weapon in Holliday, who can change a game with his blistering pace. They’ll keep forgiving him as long as the fumbles are recovered by their own players, but it’s a dangerous path to tread.

2. Seattle Seahawks

The most obvious threat on the Seahawks special teams unit is Leon Washington, who was deservedly named to the Pro Bowl this year.

Seattle’s No. 33 has averaged 27.1 yards per return, and his eight touchdown returns tied the NFL record for a single season. That kind of consistency will be a problem for the Atlanta Falcons this weekend. Falcons punter/kickoff man Matt Bosher will have to ensure that he gets either distance or height on his kicks in order to nullify the threat of Washington.

Elsewhere, Heath Farwell leads the team with 15 special teams tackles and has a natural ability for this side of the game. When asked by Seahawks.com about his continued brilliance on special teams, Farwell pointed to his past:

"

It goes way back to college, when most guys wanted to get off special teams when they started playing on defense or offense. I was one of those guys who wanted to play special teams and knew that was going to be my ticket to the NFL and my ticket to staying in the NFL.

"

Having this sort of dedication to special teams among players like Farwell has helped the Seahawks become one of the better units in the league.

1. Baltimore Ravens

Another team with bad memories of the playoffs and special teams, the Ravens missed out on a game-tying field goal in the AFC Championship game last year when Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yarder in the closing seconds.

New England was the beneficiary that day, and the Ravens will be desperate to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

The good news is that they have one of the best special teams units in the NFL, never mind the playoffs. FootballOutsiders.com ranks them at No. 1 overall, and the performance of their special teams players has been outstanding.

Against the Indianapolis Colts on Wild Card Weekend, the Ravens’ unit pitched a perfect game and the Colts were held to zero return yards.

Kicker Justin Tucker smashed all his kicks out the back of the end zone, Sam Koch averaged 43.3 yards punting and the coverage team ensured that none of the returns yielded any gain whatsoever.

In today’s game, with so many dynamic returners on special teams, that ranks as an extremely impressive achievement.