AFC

SPECIAL TEAMS TDs CAN BE GAME-CHANGERS

A big play on special teams can help shift the momentum of a game. Through Week 2 of the 2014 season, teams that have scored a touchdown on special teams are undefeated (4-0).

This season marks the first since 1992 with a kickoff-return touchdown, punt-return touchdown, blocked punt-touchdown and blocked field goal-touchdown in the first two weeks.

“Every coach preaches that special teams are one-third of the game,” says former NFL offensive lineman and current NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger. “When you pay it off with either a blocked field goal for a touchdown or a kick return for a touchdown, it verifies exactly what every coach has been preaching to their team each and every day about the importance of special teams.”

In Week 2, two AFC teams capitalized on special teams plays that resulted in crucial touchdowns.

With the Buffalo Bills holding a 9-3 lead in the third quarter of the their home opener against the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins, running back C.J. Spiller scored the game’s first touchdown on a 102-yard kickoff return. Buffalo went on to win by a score of 29-10 and improved to 2-0.

Spiller, who also had a 47-yard run in the third quarter that helped set up another Buffalo touchdown, became the first NFL player with a 100-yard kickoff-return touchdown and 45+ yard run in the same game since 1973 (Houston Oilers running back Bob Gresham, September 23, 1973).

“I think he’s very dangerous back there (as a returner),” says Bills head coach Doug Marrone of Spiller, who also had a 95-yard kickoff-return touchdown as a rookie in 2010. “That’s how we’re going to have to win; by playing well in all three phases. Special teams, really for the last two weeks, have done a heck of a job.”

Trailing the New England Patriots 17-7 in the waning moments of the first half, Minnesota lined up for a 48-yard field-goal attempt that would have brought the Vikings within seven points. But defensive end Chandler Jones blocked the kick and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 24-7 lead heading into halftime en route to a 30-7 win, improving to 1-1.

“Chandler really made a good play because he flattened down the line of scrimmage,” says New England’s Bill Belichick, who on Sunday became the sixth NFL head coach to win 200 regular-season games. “He’s obviously a really athletic guy. He has good length and was able to get up and then made a real good play after that to scoop and score and turned it into really a 10-point play – three off the board and gave us a chance to pick up seven. That was obviously a huge play in the game.”

Since realignment in 2002, NFL teams have a 244-157 (.608) record in games in which they scored a return touchdown on a kickoff, punt, blocked punt or blocked field goal.

“I think those kinds of touchdowns gives the entire team a lift,” says Baldinger. “When you can take the pressure off of your defense or get back into a game or open up a game because of a special teams turnover, it just adds momentum. It’s harder for an opponent to overcome when you get that.”

The teams with the most combined kick-return and blocked kick/punt-return touchdowns since 2002:

NFC Notes

COMEBACK VICTORIES HIGHLIGHT NFL’S UNPREDICTABILITY

“What people love about the NFL,” says New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, “is that every game, every week, no matter who is playing, anything can happen. So many games come down to that last possession.”

That has certainly been the case early this season.

In the first two weeks, there have already been three games in which a team overcame a 17-point deficit to come back and win. That is the most through the first two weeks of a season since 1999 when there were also three such instances.

In Week 2, both the Green Bay Packers (18 points) and Chicago Bears (17) came back from deficits of at least 17 points to win the game. It marked the first time in NFL history that both the Packers and Bears each overcame 17+ point deficits to win on the same day.

The Packers, playing at home, trailed 21-3 to the New York Jets before outscoring New York 28-3 to earn a 31-24 victory.

“Winning is always sweet because it’s never easy,” says Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “This was a character-building win for us. Even when we’re down, we’re never out.”

The Bears, who visited the San Francisco 49ers in the first game at Levi’s Stadium, erased a 17-0 deficit to defeat the 49ers 28-20.

“We went to work and played four quarters,” says Chicago head coach Marc Trestman. “We didn’t start well but our guys gathered themselves and went back to work. Our coaches and players stayed with it and finished the entire game.”

On Kickoff Weekend, the Philadelphia Eagles scored 34 unanswered points in the second half to erase a 17-0 deficit against Jacksonville.The Eagles are the only team in NFL history to win a game by at least 17 points after being shut out and trailing by at least 17 points at halftime.

Additionally, the Eagles overcame a 14-point deficit in Week 2 to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 30-27. Philadelphia, which trailed 20-6 in the third quarter, is the first team in NFL history to start 2-0 after trailing by at least 14 points in the second half of each game.

“It’s good to come back and win,” says Eagles running back LeSean McCoy. “Everything is not always going to be great. There are going to be times when we’ll need to come back. That’s what championship teams do. They’re teams that will fight back and win. That’s what we’re doing every game. We’re fighting and clawing to win.”

Another team that has jumped out to a 2-0 start by fighting and clawing to win is the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals lead the NFC West and have used fourth-quarter comebacks to win each of their first two games.

On Kickoff Weekend, Arizona outscored San Diego 12-0 in the fourth quarter to pull out an 18-17 win. In Week 2, the Cardinals scored all 15 fourth-quarter points in a 25-14 come-from-behind win at the New York Giants. Arizona is the first team since the 1982 Green Bay Packers to start 2-0 after trailing entering the fourth quarter in both games and not allowing a single fourth-quarter point.

“We now understand how to win ballgames,” says Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson. “We know how to finish out the fourth quarter. That’s what it’s all about. They’re great team wins.”