Jets Special Teams Ranked Among The Best In The NFL
The strong play of the New York Jets defense this past season under coordinator Gregg Williams is well-documented. The equally impressive play of the special teams unit under coordinator Brant Boyer, however, flew under the radar for much of the season.
The Jets had one of the NFL’s best special teams unit this past regular season, coming in eighth best across all categories according to SportsIllustrated.com’s Rick Gosselin. The group placed near the top of several categories as well.
The Jets were second in the NFL in punt returns with 11.6 yards (the Indianapolis Colts led the league with 17.4 yards returned per punt). They were third in the NFL in opponent kickoff yards, allowing just 19 yards (the Houston Texans allowed just 18.3 yards per kickoff).
The Jets were also third in opponent punting, with just 43.67 yards per punt allowed (the New Orleans Saints allowed an average of 42.4 yards per punt by an opponent). This ties in well with the 38.8 yards of net punting allowed (the Saints again topped the league with 36.8 yards).
And in points scored, the Jets were tied with four other teams for second in the league with 12 points scored as a unit. The Colts led the league in this category as well with 14 points scored.
The complete top 10 of special teams according to Gosselin:
1. New Orleans 256
2. Cincinnati 279.5
3. New England 284
4. Washington 301.5
5. Jacksonville 302
6. Kansas City 309.5
7. NY Giants 314
8. NY Jets 324
9. Pittsburgh 324.5
10. Detroit 329
2019 represented Boyer’s fourth season as special teams coordinator of the Jets. Last year, his unit was ranked the best by Goseslin’s metrics.
