- Jeffrey Bassa delivers the play of the week: The Kansas City Chiefs linebacker forced a late kickoff fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders and earned a 92.5 PFF kick coverage grade.
- Kelee Ringo leads the gunners: The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback recorded three tackles as a gunner, while Los Angeles Rams gunner Maximus Pulley added two.
- Special teams standouts emerge across units: William Wagner led long snappers with an 84.1 PFF grade, while Cody Lindenberg paced kick return units with a 91.8 grade.
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Each week, I'll bring you a report covering everything you need to know about special teams players across the NFL. This won’t usually focus on kickers, punters and returners, though. Instead, the report will dig deeper into gunners, vice players, snappers and members of the kick return and coverage units. I’ll also include my favorite special teams plays of the week.
Here is the Special Teams Report for Week 4.
Special teams play of the week
With the Chiefs having just taken the lead late in a close game against the Las Vegas Raiders, they kicked off and prepared to try to stop the Raiders on a potential final drive. Instead, they got the ball right back thanks to second-year linebacker Jeffrey Bassa. Bassa beat his block and, with the tackle already secured by multiple teammates, opted to punch the ball loose, giving the Chiefs possession inside the Raiders’ 25-yard line.
Gunners
Two players recorded multiple tackles as gunners this week, and they did so in the same game. Kelee Ringo of the Philadelphia Eagles recorded three tackles, while Maximus Pulley of the Los Angeles Rams recorded two. Ringo also missed a tackle as a gunner in the Eagles’ loss to the Rams.
Vice/Jammers
On the other side are the players responsible for slowing down gunners. Among players who were on the field for at least three snaps as a vice/jammer, three recorded a vice win percentage of 33.3% or better.
| Player | Team | Vice win percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Shavon Revel | Dallas Cowboys | 50.0% |
| Ameer Speed | Dallas Cowboys | 50.0% |
| Cam Taylor-Britt | Dallas Cowboys | 33.3% |
Long snappers
Long snappers earn high grades by limiting inaccurate snaps and recording tackles in punt coverage. Three long snappers earned PFF grades above 70.0 in Week 4.
| Player | Team | PFF grade |
|---|---|---|
| William Wagner | Cincinnati Bengals | 84.1 |
| Rex Sunahara | Cleveland Browns | 73.5 |
| Austin Brinkman | Houston Texans | 73.4 |
Wagner did not record an inaccurate snap in the Bengals’ loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and also recorded a tackle on a punt return.
Kick coverage units
Players can earn high grades on kick coverage units by making tackles and defeating blocks to influence kick returners. Among players who were on the field for at least five kick coverage snaps, 10 earned PFF grades above 80.0.
| Player | Team | PFF grade |
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Bassa | Kansas City Chiefs | 92.5 |
| Troy Dye | Los Angeles Chargers | 92.2 |
| Chris Blair | Atlanta Falcons | 86.7 |
| Grant Stuard | Los Angeles Rams | 86.3 |
| Xavier Nwankpa | Kansas City Chiefs | 84.9 |
| D'Marco Jackson | Chicago Bears | 84.9 |
| Trevor Nowaske | Detroit Lions | 83.8 |
| Joe Andreessen | Buffalo Bills | 83.2 |
| Luke Gifford | San Francisco 49ers | 83.1 |
| Smael Mondon Jr. | Philadelphia Eagles | 81.9 |
Kick return units
Players earn positive and negative grades as part of kick return units based on how well they block the opposing kick coverage unit. This week, eight players earned PFF grades above 85.0 while playing at least five snaps in the kick return unit.
| Player | Team | PFF grade |
|---|---|---|
| Cody Lindenberg | Las Vegas Raiders | 91.8 |
| Travis Homer | Pittsburgh Steelers | 88.2 |
| Jackson Kuwatch | Carolina Panthers | 88.0 |
| Justin Barron | Dallas Cowboys | 87.8 |
| Brevin Jordan | Houston Texans | 87.3 |
| Jaden Hicks | Kansas City Chiefs | 86.7 |
| Grant Stuard | Los Angeles Rams | 86.5 |
| Lathan Ransom | Carolina Panthers | 86.1 |
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