Tommy Townsend Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month
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The Kansas City Chiefs have already had a pair of players take home Player of the Week honors in the month of September, and now another is getting a monthly award. Per Ari Meirov of Pro Football Focus, Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month:
Players of the Month (September)
NFC:
O: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts
D: Bucs LB Devin White
ST: 49ers P Mitch Wishnowsky
AFC:
O: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
D: Dolphins LB Melvin Infram
ST: Chiefs P Tommy Townsend- Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 at 7:37 a.m. CST
Towsend joins the likes of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Miami Dolphins pass-rusher (and former Chief) Melvin Ingram as those to earn honors for their respective units in the month of September. Through the first three games of the 2022 campaign, Townsend has booted 11 punts for an average of 55.6 yards with a long punt of 74.
Among all qualified punters thus far in the season, Townsend's net average (49.6 yards) ranks first in the entire NFL. His longest punt is also tied with Mitch Wishnowsky of the San Francisco 49ers for the longest in the entire NFL. Townsend has five punts inside the 20-yard line and a pair of touchbacks. Opponents have returned just four of his punts for 26 yards.
In his career, Townsend has exactly 100 punts on his resume for 4,696 yards. Last season, he also led the NFL in net average (46.3 yards) while finishing tied for 21st in punts inside the 20 (18). With that said, his 35 punts on the year ranked well outside the top 20 and he wasn't used nearly as often as some of the best punters in the league. Even with some struggles by the Chiefs' offense early in 2022, Townsend's 11 punts so far rank tied for 22nd.
Following a dreadful special teams performance against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, Kansas City currently ranks 30th in Football Outsiders' Special Teams DVOA. With that said, Dave Toub's unit ranked third in 2021 and also has multiple other top-five finishes to its name. While the kicking and return games have been areas of struggle for the Chiefs this season, Townsend's punting in September served as a major bright spot for a club still looking to find its footing.
