Final 2025 NFL Special Teams Rankings, Summarized in Perfect Bisaccia Quote

The Green Bay Packers didn’t finish last in our annual NFL special teams rankings, but they certainly didn’t save their best for last, either.

Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the fourth consecutive season under coordinator Rich Bisaccia, the Green Bay Packers fielded below-average special teams.

In the final Packers On SI NFL special teams rankings for 2025, the Packers finished 20th. Bisaccia, hired by coach Matt LaFleur in 2022 to fix the chronically broken third phase, hasn’t accomplished that directive. The Packers finished 22nd in 2024, 27th in 2023 and 17th in 2022.

“It seems we want to dwell on the negative at times around here,” Bisaccia said before Week 18, “but I’d like to think that those guys can look at the tape and feel really good about a lot of the things that they have done.”

It was the perfect summation of Green Bay’s special teams. The Packers’ units haven’t been a net positive since 2007. That’s two decades of mediocrity. Or worse. Green Bay finished last in 2021. When former NFL writer Rick Gosselin did his special teams rankings, the Packers also were last in 2021, 2018, 2014, 2006 and 2005.

So, from that perspective, at least they weren’t terrible this year.

Special teams are about field position, and that’s the focus of our rankings. Here’s the chart, with an explanation of the five statistical areas to follow.

Packers On SI NFL Special Teams Rankings

Final 2025 NFL Special Teams Rankings | Bill Huber/Packers On SI

Daniel Whelan Leads the Way

The first column is net punting average. Packers punter Daniel Whelan finished fourth in the NFL with a franchise-record net average of 43.9 yards.

“I’m definitely proud of myself,” Whelan said after becoming the first Packers punter to lead the NFL in gross average. “Obviously, a lot of work went into it, but the work doesn’t stop. Got to beat it next year and so on and so on. Just happy with where we’re at.”

The second column is opponent net punting average. The Packers relied on receiver Romeo Doubs on punt returns because he could catch the ball. Any return yardage was a bonus. With Green Bay ranking 32nd in punt-return average, it finished 28th in opponent net average.

The third column is opponent starting field position after a kickoff, with Green Bay ranking 11th. Opponents’ average drive start after a kickoff was the 29.9-yard line; the Packers were 0.1 yards out of ninth.

The fourth column is starting field position after a kickoff. The Packers had high hopes for rookie receiver Savion Williams as the returner but that didn’t come to fruition, due in part to a foot injury that eventually sent him to injured reserve. The Packers’ average start of the 29.4-yard line ranked 21st; they were closer to 27th than 20th.

The fifth column is field-goal percentage. Brandon McManus finished the season strong – the regular season, anyway – but it wasn’t enough to overcome the midseason slump that had Green Bay finish 23rd.

“Brandon going through an injury … we talked about where he is now psychologically,” Bisaccia said before the playoff game. “He’s got the crack back in his neck and he’s got his attitude back and he’s got his personality back. I think you’ve seen that. Chicago last time [Week 16], we kicked a 48-yard PAT in a little bit of a difficult climate down there. And so I think that’s really who he is right now.”

Playoff Disaster

The Packers might not have been happy about their special teams but there was comfort in not making any big mistakes.

“I’m excited about the direction our units are going in,” Bisaccia said before Week 18. “I feel we’ve cleaned up some of our problems a little bit better than we did maybe earlier in the year.”

The mess returned for the playoff loss at Chicago.

The unquestioned strength all season was the Whelan-led punting team. However, his four punts allowed 99 return yards. Devin Duvernay had returns of 37 and 22 yards and Josh Blackwell had a 19-yard return. The Packers had allowed a total of 11 return yards during the final five games of the regular season.

“We didn’t win on the outside,” LaFleur said of the 37-yarder. “Our flyers got pinned inside and you saw the result. Those are the things that, from a protection standpoint and a coverage standpoint, that I obviously think they’ve got be on point. I thought for the most part this season, we’ve done a pretty solid job in that regard.”

After missing the Nov. 16 game at the Giants, McManus made every field goal and extra point during the final seven games. Against the Bears, he missed two field goals and an extra point.

“It’s emotional. It’s disappointing,” McManus said. “My role on the team is to make kicks and these guys pour in thousands of plays over the course of the season and I leave seven points on the board today. It’s the most disappointing part of my career right now.”

The Packers put former All-Pro returner Keisean Nixon back on kickoffs for the first time this season but weren’t rewarded.

In 18 total games, the Packers were the only team without a kickoff return of longer than 40 yards or a punt return of longer than 20 yards. Williams and Bo Melton had team-best 36-yard kickoff returns and Jayden Reed had a 20-yard punt return in Week 1.

Special Teams and the Super Bowl

As is the case most seasons, there is little correlation between success on special teams and overall team success.

The Seattle Seahawks won the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle wound up third in our rankings, highlighted by top-three finishes in field position after a kickoff, field position after a kickoff return and opponent net-punt average. The trade-deadline deal for receiver Rashid Shaheed paid big dividends after explosive rookie Tory Horton was injured.

The New England Patriots won the AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos. New England finished 16th. It was below average in every category other than opponent net punt, where it was first on the strength of returner Marcus Jones, who averaged 17.3 yards per return and scored two touchdowns.

The Colts finished first and the Jets finished second; neither made the playoffs. Of our top 10, Seattle (third), Houston (sixth) and Jacksonville (10th) were the only teams that qualified for the postseason.

The average ranking of the 14 playoff teams was 16.4.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER