- The Jaguars deliver a special teams game of the week: Jacksonville’s kickoff return against Philadelphia in London set up the game-winning field goal, with Ameer Abdullah advancing the ball inside the 40-yard line.
- Miles Killebrew leads kick coverage grades: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers player earned a 92.7 PFF grade, the highest of the nine qualified players who graded above 80.0 in Week 5.
Each week, I’ll bring you a report covering everything you need to know about special teams players around the NFL. But it’s not just about kickers, punters and returners. We’ll dig deeper into players who are often overlooked, including gunners, vise players, long snappers and members of the kick return and coverage units. I will also highlight my favorite special teams play of the week.
Here is the Special Teams Report for Week 5.
Special teams play week
There can only be one choice for a special teams play this week: the kickoff return by the Jacksonville Jaguars that set up their game-winning field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles in London.
A double-team block took care of the L4 player on the Eagles’ kick coverage unit, while blocks on the L1-L3 players created enough space for the Jaguars to return the kick inside the 40-yard line. Jacksonville might have scored a touchdown on the play if not for kicker Jake Elliott slowing down Ameer Abdullah.
Gunners
No NFL player recorded as many tackles as the gunner in Week 5, with 10 players registering one tackle each. Simi Fehoko of the Arizona Cardinals and Isaac Yiadom of the Washington Commanders are the only two players to win multiple reps as gunners. Fehoko recorded three wins, while Yiadom had two.
Vise/Jammer
On the other side of the equation are the vise players, who are responsible for slowing down opposing gunners. Six players logged at least three snaps as a vise/jammer and recorded a vise win percentage of 33.3% or higher in Week 5.
Long snappers
Long snappers earn high PFF grades by limiting inaccurate snaps and making tackles in punt coverage. Two long snappers earned PFF grades above 70.0 in Week 5, both delivering performances without a single inaccurate snap.
Kick coverage units
Players in kick coverage units get positive marks not only by making tackles but also by beating blocks and influencing the path of kick returners. Of the players who logged at least five snaps on kick coverage units in Week 5, nine earned PFF grades above 80.0.
Kick return units
Players on kick return units get positive or negative marks based on how well they block opposing players with kick coverage. In Week 5, six players who logged at least five snaps on kick return units earned PFF grades above 90.0.