Broncos' PR Diontae Spencer Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week
On Wednesday, the NFL announced that Denver Broncos' returner Diontae Spencer has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
The award comes on the heels of Spencer's 83-yard punt return for a touchdown vs. the Carolina Panthers in Week 14. It was his first NFL touchdown and the third-longest punt return of the 2020 season.
The explosive score was timely as the Broncos' special teams unit hadn’t scored a touchdown since 2015. Spencer, a Louisiana native, entered the NFL as an undrafted wideout with the Chicago Bears, before ending up with the St. Louis Rams.
Then it was a trip up north to the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts where Spencer finally found his opportunity to see the field, catching 107 passes for 1,208 yards, and six touchdowns. In 2017, he joined the Ottawa Redblacks and set a CFL single-game record logging 496 all-purpose yards.
His production earned him CFL All-Star honors in 2017 and 2018. In early 2019, this earned him a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers before he was waived and claimed by the Broncos.
In his first year with Denver, Spencer averaged approximately eight yards per punt and 29 yards per kick return. He was named an alternate for the Pro Bowl last year, though he didn't make the game.
The last time a Broncos returner won AFC Special Teams honors was in 2013 with Trindon Holliday. Spencer’s punt return for six against the Panthers tied the seventh-longest in team history.
"The return we had called, the guys were just supposed to get back and block and it was me just trusting him that they were going to get there," Spencer explained in the post-game press conference. "So, I had a couple peeps, looked down, and felt that I could have caught the ball. Once I did that, I just let everything else take over and got in the end zone. We've been preaching on that pretty much since last year — just me trying to get into the end zone and create a spark for this team. I felt like I did that today."
The 28-year-old is averaging approximately 17.5 yards per punt return in his second season with the Broncos. His touchdown sparked a Broncos team that capitalized off the momentum, as they stomped the Panthers 32-27 in week 14’s matchup.
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