Week 11 Report Card for All 32 Special Teams Units

When head coaches preach a belief that special teams are one-third of the game and therefore just as important as defense and offense, it's usually difficult to swallow. Special teams plays like punts, kickoffs, field goal and PATs often become routine.

However, there are those occasional moments in which a special teams play is absolutely critical and the turning point in a game and ultimately a season. 

Be it a heroic play like a kick/punt return for a score or a long field goal at the gun, or a total botch-job that gives a game away—a blocked punt or field goal, a terrible punt or kickoff out of bounds—special teams excellence and embarrassment have a way of becoming extremely important. 

So, here's a look at how each team's special teams units did on Sunday.

NOTE: Teams with a bye or who are playing on Monday will get a grade for the entire season.  

Dallas Cowboys

Grade: C

Not much in way of returns for Dallas Sunday, and on the flip side, the Cowboys let the Redskins' Brandon Banks collect oodles of yardage—190 on seven touches, to be exact.

And as far as their own kicking game, Mat McBriar's poor punt late in the first half (a 23-yarder out of bounds) helped the Redskins out with great field position, setting up their first touchdown. 

McBriar did redeem himself a bit late in the fourth quarter when he pinned Washington inside its own 20, forcing the Redskins to try and go 89 yards for the game-tying score—which they did. 

New York Giants

Grade: D

I don't care if it was one play in a game that was decided by so many that followed it. When it's been less than a year since one of the most infamous plays in team history—DeSean Jackson's punt return for a touchdown last December—you cannot make the same mistake twice.

Yet that's exactly what happened late in the first half with the Giants behind 3-0. Steve Weatherford punted to Jackson, who raced 51 yards to set up the Eagles' first touchdown.

Sure, that one play in the first half didn't bury the Giants—they did come back to tie the game at 10—but it forced them to play catch up all day. And the few solid punts from Weatherford later on or Lawrence Tynes nailing a 48-yarder just before halftime hardly made up for it. 

Philadelphia Eagles

Grade: B+

DeSean Jackson's 51-yard punt return was obviously enormous. 

Maybe it wasn't a "game-changer," but it sparked the Eagles to huge points just before the half and at least partially broke the spirits of both the Giants and their fans. Don't underestimate how important that was.

Although there weren't many other opportunities for Philadelphia's special teams to stand out, Chas Henry's punts were a great help to the Eagles defense—none were returned for even a single yard. That's had to be a huge boost to a much-maligned defense that played fantastic in a critical game. 

Washington Redskins

Grade: C

You'd probably have to look at the special teams battle today between Washington and Dallas as a wash—no pun intended. 

Washington kept the Dallas return game in check and despite (or perhaps because of) a booming kick from Mat McBriar, Brandon Banks had one really long return and overall a stellar day on both kicks and punts. And Sav Rocca had a few tremendous kicks, including a 61-yarder that forced Dallas to start its next drive at its own 5.

However, Graham Gano missed a pair of (albeit) long field goal attempts that could have kept the game from reaching overtime and may have snapped the Skins' five-game losing skid. 

Chicago Bears

Grade: B+

Considering how much attention is on him anytime he touches the ball as a special teams player, the fact that Devin Hester had three really good returns today is impressive. The same goes for Johnny Knox, who had a huge 55-yard return late in the first half that set up the Bears' go-ahead touchdown. And Adam Podlesh also had a great punt that was ultimately downed at the Chargers 3. 

That alone isn't enough to say the Bears' special teams were fantastic.

Richard Goodman had a four very good returns and just because they didn't come back to bite the Bears in the backside—only one of those ensuing drives led to points—doesn't completely cover up those deficiencies. 

Detroit Lions

Grade: C

Although Matthew Stafford was clearly the star of this game, the Lions special teams certainly had an eventful day.

Obviously, Kealoha Pilares' touchdown return was a colossal mistake that put the Lions in a 10-point hole. And the penalty that Detroit's Andre Fluellen committed was another that helped the Panthers keep a drive going and ultimately push the lead to 17. 

But aside from that one return by Pilares they did a good job containing the Lions return game. Apart from that, since the Lions offense was so awesome, there wasn't much to judge them on. Jason Hanson didn't even attempt a field goal, and the punt team was only trotted out twice by Jim Schwartz. 

Green Bay Packers

Grade: B

I suppose compared to their passing game, any other part of the Packers team is diminished, but the Packers special teams certainly had their moments.

Randall Cobb was the centerpiece again. He didn't do very much on kickoffs,  but smoked the Bucs on a punt return for 55 yards. And don't forget about the play of punter Tim Masthay, who boomed a 63-yarder and later pinned Tampa Bay inside its own 10. Oh, and regardless of how it happened, he did get the first down on that run early in the game, setting up the Packers first touchdown. 

Mason Crosby missing that 27-yard field goal, however, does keep them from earning the A.  

Minnesota Vikings

Grade: C

The Vikings kick coverage was flat-out bad this week, as the Raiders used a string of different players—Taiwan Jones, Denarius Moore, Bryan McCann—to rack up yards on kicks and punts and give Oakland ideal field position.

Couple that with Lorenzo Booker's fumble of a kickoff—a play that set up the Raiders' third touchdown on the day—and it was another disappointment for the hometown fans in a day filled with them. 

That being said, their own return game was decent and they did block a Sebastian Janikowski field goal. 

Atlanta Falcons

Grade: B

Aside from Marc Mariani's long return in the second half—which did help the Titans cross center field and start their mini-comeback—Atlanta's special teams was very solid. 

You can't really fault the them for not returning any kickoffs. On the turf inside the dome, it was just easier for the strong-legged Rob Bironas to force touchbacks. 

And when called upon, Matt Bryant made all of his kicks. Even if they weren't very long, that's all you can ask of him.

The same was true about punter Matt Bosher. Sure, the raw numbers weren't impressive at all, even "bad," but since both kicks pinned Tennessee inside the 20 (and one was at the 10), who cares? 

Carolina Panthers

Grade: A

Yes, Kealoha Pilares' 101-yard kick return alone is enough to earn the Panthers an A on this list, especially since there weren't too many special teams highlights in Week 11.

Furthermore, Olindo Mare nailed four kicks into the end zone to produce touchbacks and Jason Baker had a few nice punts, including that 41-yarder that ultimately led to a penalty against Detroit, which kept the drive alive and set up a Cam Newton touchdown.

New Orleans Saints

Grade: A

You know about Darren Sproles: He's a game-changer, scoring once on a punt and averaging 26.5 yards per kickoff.

However, even if you look beyond that one player, they've been very impressive as an entire unit. 

Thomas Morstead is averaging almost 44 yards NET per punt and they're averaging just six yards per return.

And don't overlook how well the ageless John Kasay has kicked. At 42 years old, Kasay has a pair of 50-plus makes and is 22-for-27 (16-of-16 inside 40) with each of his misses coming from a reasonably good distance.  

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Grade: C 

Sammie Stroughter and Preston Parker delivered steady—not terribly impressive—performances as returners; fortunately for Parker, his fumble went out of bounds. 

However, they didn't keep Randall Cobb in check when they absolutely had to—never mind  the fact there was an illegal block on the play.

Still, Matt Koenen punted the ball well today. He may not be worth the ridiculous $19.5 million salary Tampa Bay gave him in the offseason—I wonder if Raheem Morris thinks that money would have been spent better now—but he did have a few nice punts. 

Arizona Cardinals

Grade: B

The Cardinals did a fine job today on Ted Ginn, Jr., not allowing the playmaker to have any impact, but they weren't able to do anything returning kicks or punts either.

Patrick Peterson the returner is clearly one of the few weapons they have on the entire roster, so when they can't get stops, he's largely going to be silenced. 

Much of that falls on the defense, but the two field goals that the Cardinals blocked certainly helps and is a feather in the special teams' cap.  

St. Louis Rams

Grade: B

Even before kickoff we know this game had the possibility of being ugly. In that respect, it lived up to the billing.

However, as bad as the Rams are and were Sunday, their special teams weren't part of the problem. They weren't really part of the solution either, but this team needs more than a punt return touchdown to even compete.

Although he was given ample opportunities to warm up his leg, Donnie Jones had a few very nice punts, including one downed inside the 10 and three inside the 20. Still, seeing Jones, the punter, be the one to make the tackle on Leon Washington at the end of a 37-yard return is less than ideal. 

Seattle Seahawks

Grade: B+

It was something of a punting clinic in St. Louis during Week 11, wasn't it?

Not to be outdone by his counterpart Donnie Jones, Jon Ryan—who also had plenty of chances to try out his leg—landed four punts inside the 20, landed three inside the 10 and averaged almost 50 yards per punt, an impressive feat considering he punted the ball 10 times. 

That, added to Leon Washington's excellent return at the end of the first half and completely hemming in rookie Austin Pettis on punts, made for an overall solid day. 

San Francisco 49ers

Grade: D

Everyone is, rightfully so, praising the job that Jim Harbaugh is doing on both sides of the football. And at times, the 49ers special teams have been phenomenal—just see the win over Seattle.

Sunday was borderline disastrous, however, and exposed a weakness that could come to haunt them in January.

David Akers missing a 49-yarder wide left is one thing. It came outside, on grass in a stadium known for tricky winds. That's not the issue—having two field goals blocked is. Championship teams don't allow that to happen. Even if one of them was a somewhat long (46 yards) attempt and Akers had to sacrifice height for length, that wasn't the case on the 30-yarder Patrick Peterson blocked. 

Buffalo Bills

Grade: D

That blocked punt—which ended Brian Moorman's streak of 735 consecutive punts without one—was simply the nail in the coffin for the Bills on Sunday and perhaps their 2011 season. 

However, a nice 45-yard return from C.J. Spiller and a good overall average from Brian Moorman were at least some silver lining in this one. 

And even if it only produced three points in an embarrassing blowout, to have Dave Rayner boom a 56-yarder was at least something Bills fans could get excited about.   

Miami Dolphins

Grade: B+

Any time you can score a special teams touchdown, it's a big deal—it happens so rarely.

Still, Chris Clemons' blocked punt, which Lex Hilliard recovered for a touchdown, did come when the game was all but decided.

As for the rest of the special teams performance, Davone Bess muffed a punt, and there was a clear lapse on the long return by C.J. Spiller. Nevertheless, punter Brandon Fields did have a big day, landing five of his seven kicks inside the 20 and putting it inside the 10 three times. 

New England Patriots

Grade: B

With as many points as New England has surrendered, they've sure had plenty of chances to return kickoffs, yet none of its return men have made that game-changing play.

And with the flip side of that porous defense—not forcing that many punts from the opposing team—the same has been true about punt returns.

But under Bill Belichick—once a special teams coach himself—the rest of the kicking game has been pretty solid. Zoltan Mesko has been steady, as has Stephen Gostkowski—aside from missing that 27-yarder in the loss to the Giants.

New York Jets

Grade: D

Certainly other things went wrong for the Jets on Thursday night, like, you know, letting Tim Tebow drive 95 yards for the game-winning score.

Their special teams didn't contribute that much to the cause, either.

Nick Folk's two misses were both from 50-plus yards, so don't fault him for those.

Instead, look at the 67-yard return by Denver's Cassius Vaughn, the fumble by Joe McKnight—when they really didn't need a turnover following Mark Sanchez's pick-six—and a pretty mediocre day from punter T.J. Conley, whose net average was only 36 yards. 

Baltimore Ravens

Grade: B+

Every one of Billy Cundiff's kickoffs (and there were plenty) resulted in a touchback, so that's noteworthy.

And, aside from that poor out-of-bounds kick before halftime, Sam Koch really punted the ball great, averaging nearly 50 yards a pop.

But a pretty stale effort from the punt return team—three attempts for six total yards—drops them down a touch. 

Cincinnati Bengals

Grade: C

Despite that long punt of 56 yards, Kurt Huber did not have good day punting the football. His 15-yarder helped give the Ravens tremendous field position, leading to a Ravens touchdown in the second quarter.

Worse yet, when the Bengals were playing without their best playmaker in A.J. Green, they were unable to do anything in the return game. Brandon Tate managed just 24 yards on four returns.

Do give them credit, however, for hemming in the Ravens returner Lardarius Webb, who had an even slower day as a returner, collecting just six yards on three returns. 

Cleveland Browns

Grade: B

Josh Cribbs had a nice 37-yard kick return today, an impressive feat considering how much of an integral part to the Cleveland offense he was as well. 

As a unit, the Browns didn't allow much of anything from the Jaguars return-game, although that's not that impressive. 

Because Phil Dawson did miss a make-able 38-yard field goal (in the fourth quarter of a close game, no less) and Brad Maynard had a paltry 23-yard punt early in the game, it's tough to give that unit as a whole too much credit. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Grade: C

The Steelers special teams really haven't been much to write home about since Deon Figures' onside-kick recovery in Super Bowl XXX. And the tricky winds at Heinz Field aren't the only reason why.

This year, it's not bad, but it's not great.

Antonio Brown has been a very good kick returner, and along with Emmanuel Sanders, the duo have given Ben Roethlisberger's offense decent starting position on punts. 

However, they have yielded a few long returns to David Reed, Lardarius Webb, Danny Woodhead and Marc Mariani. 

On a not-totally-unrelated note, how does your punter (Daniel Sepulveda) suffer three season-ending knee injuries in the span of four years?

Houston Texans

Grade: B

Jacoby Jones could be the AFC's Pro Bowl representative as a punt returner, and not just because of that 79-yard touchdown in the Week 1 rout of Indianapolis. Throughout the entire season he's averaging more than 11 yards per return.

As a complement, Daniel Manning has done a nice job as a kick returner, averaging more than 27 yards each time he takes it out. 

The two kickers, however, have been a bit disappointing. Sure, Neil Rackers has a ton of points and field goals, but he should, playing his home games in a dome on turf. And he did miss a pair of make-able 40-something-yard field goals on the inviting surface at Relian. He also missed a 37-yarder and had an extra point blocked in the win over Tampa Bay. 

Furthermore, punter Brett Hartmann hasn't a fairly pedestrian net (36.9) as teams are averaging better than 10 yards per return against Houston.  

Indianapolis Colts

Grade: D

As far as I know, Peyton Manning has never played a single special teams down in his 13-year career with the Colts, so his absence can't really be blamed for a pretty bad special teams season.

Their return game is an oxymoron. They haven't returned a single punt longer than 13 yards, and haven't returned a single kickoff longer than 32. 

Pat McAfee has had a punt blocked, the average return against that unit is 13.6 yards, and Jacoby Jones had that 79-yard touchdown in the opener.

Even the infallible Adam Vinatieri has misstepped a few times. In that loss to Tampa—perhaps their best shot at avoiding a winless season—the former Super Bowl hero missed a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter of a tied game. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Grade: C

What is there to say about the Jaguars special teams that hasn't already been said about their entire team?

It's mediocre, nondescript, almost anonymous.

The Jags special teams unit didn't do anything awful in Cleveland and didn't do anything particularly good in Cleveland. 

Tennessee Titans

Grade: B

Marc Mariani's 49-yard kick return late in the third quarter was a tremendous shot in the arm for the Titans offense. Three plays later the Titans scored their first touchdown of the game.

And Rob Bironas had a pretty good game as well, nailing a 46-yarder and completely shutting out the Falcons in terms of kickoffs, collecting four touchbacks. 

Denver Broncos

Grade: B+

Lost in Tebow-mania was a pretty good effort on Thursday night by the Broncos special teams unit. 

Cassius Vaughn had a great 67-yard return, they forced a fumble from Joe McKnight, and not only did Britton Colquitt pin the Jets offense inside the 20 three times, he opened the fourth quarter with a booming 56-yarder.  

I have to dock them a few style points, however, for not doing much on two punt returns, totaling just 12 yards. 

Kansas City Chiefs

Grade: B

Clearly the Colquitt family can kick. Dustin is having a fine year for the Chiefs, averaging almost 57 yards per boom and 41.2 yards net. He's also pinned the opposition inside the 20 14 times.

And even though his numbers aren't fantastic and he doesn't have a score, Dexter McCluster is still a very good return threat.

Furthermore, both the kick and punt coverage have been very good.

Now, certainly part of it has to do with a pretty average offense, but the Chiefs have only allowed nine kickoffs to even be returned this season. Give Ryan Succop a tip of the hat for forcing a handful of touchbacks.  

Oakland Raiders

Grade: A-

They didn't score on a ridiculous 100-yard kick return or block a punt for a score—Sebatstian Janikowski even had a field goal blocked—but from top to bottom, the Raiders special teams were excellent today.

They forced and recovered a fumble on a Vikings kick return and Shane Lechler was outstanding, booming a 64-yarder on his way to a 47-yard average on six kicks.

But it was the return game that was most impressive. Denarius Moore had a 34-yard punt return, Taiwan Jones set up the Raiders first score with a 46-yard kick return, and Bryan McCann added another one that gave Oakland good field position.

To do that with their clear-cut premier return man, Jacoby Ford, sidelined by an ankle injury is a testament to the entire unit's productivity.   

San Diego Chargers

Grade: C

Richard Goodman had a few very nice returns and Nick Novak kicked a relatively long field goal outside on grass, so that's something to be pleased with. But against the Chicago Bears special teams performances are always measured by very specific criteria.

Did Devin Hester score a touchdown? Although he did have a handful of very good returns, the answer Sunday was "no."

But a better question might have been "why were they kicking to him in the first place?" Hester did touch the ball five times on special teams which is probably three times more than is acceptable. Worse yet, when they actually did kick to someone else, they let Johnny Knox race past midfield to set up the Bears' go-ahead touchdown before halftime.