NFL Special Teams Take Center Stage: League Sources Explain Why and How

Henry McKenna

NFL Reporter

Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

In Week 3, the NFL had five blocked kicks in one day for the first time since 2006. Last season, the league had 18 blocked field goals for the entire year.

Is there a reason that special teams has suddenly become a huge talking point in the NFL? Our NFL reporters asked around the league to get answers.

Here’s what we’ve learned about special teams and its resurgence early in the 2025 NFL season.

Rams head coach Sean McVay, whose kicker Joshua Karty had two field goals blocked in the fourth quarter that ended up costing his team the game, credited Philadelphia’s defense for creating those opportunities for the big plays.

“On both of those kicks, we were just a little bit high with our pad level, didn’t necessarily execute with the techniques and the fundamentals that we’re capable of,” McVay said. “They ended up making those plays and they do a great job.”

Rams vs. Eagles: Greg Olsen praises Eagles’ second-half performance

League sources I spoke with said more blocked field goals are a result of kickers making more field goals from longer distances. Because of the low trajectory it takes to make those long field goals, special teams coaches are devising ways to create inside push, using more physical, athletic bodies to generate interior penetration up front.

“They’re putting big, athletic guys out there who can jump,” a league source told me. “Kickers are driving the ball more instead of these rainbow kicks. That’s why you’re seeing, especially on these longer kicks, a lot of blocks coming from the middle of the defense.”

Along with the blocked field goals, another trend in special teams this season has been the uptick in returns. With the introduction of the dynamic kickoff two years ago, which moved touchbacks from the 30 to the 35-yard line, the touchback rate has dropped from 64.3% in 2024 to 17% so far this season.

And more teams are experimenting with line drives and knuckle-ball kicks to make it harder for the return man to field the ball.

“The dirty ball that hits the ground and checks up, making it hard to handle and goes into the end zone is the kick everyone is trying to master,” an NFL source told me. “Even on a normal kickoff with great direction to the goal line, the average start for an offense is between the 20 to 30-yard line. With the new rule, coaches are calling for a touchback fewer times.”

In Week 2, Seahawks kicker Jason Myers’ kickoff turned into a touchdown for Seattle when Pittsburgh’s rookie return man Kaleb Johnson failed to realize it was a live ball. – Eric D. Williams

A former NFL special teams coordinator pointed to certain organizations as consistently having special teams issues. Over the course of a season, or a coaching staff’s tenure, those will cost you games.

“The Rams do not work on special teams,” the former coordinator told me. “They do not invest in players or put an emphasis on that as an organization. Track the last few seasons, they lose at least three games a year directly because of their special teams.”

That person also noted that the Packers and Buccaneers have not placed a huge emphasis on special teams.

“My theory is in the last few years, as the [kickoff] phase of the game became irrelevant, teams stopped building that part of the roster. … As a result, a lot of older coaches have left the NFL and younger, inexperienced coaches have replaced them.” – Henry McKenna

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!

What did you think of this story?