Lions special teams report card vs Denver Broncos Week 3
OVERALL: C+
The obvious miscue was Matt Prater having an extra point blocked. Punter Sam Martin boomed a 66-yard punt. TJ Jones had a nice punt return. The Lions special teams aren’t doing anything to lose games but are also not contributing much to giving the team a better chance to win. This team is starving for either a splash play or a special teams turnover caused.
PLACEKICKING: D
Prater missed his only kick of the night–an extra point attempt. He is now 5-of-6 on extra points and has one field goal on one attempt this year.
PUNTING: B
Sam Martin had five punts, for an average of 46.6 yards, with a long of 66 yards. Only one of his five punts remained behind the Broncos 20-yard line.
KICKOFFS: A
All three of Martin’s kickoffs went for touchbacks.
KICKOFF RETURNS: INC.
The Lions never returned a kickoff.
PUNT RETURNS: B+
Jones was sent deep to return a punt, not Golden Tate. He had a return of 28 yards. Again, the Lions return game is much better than last year and this preseason.
KICKOFF COVERAGE: INC.
The Broncos never returned a kickoff.
PUNT COVERAGE: B+
It was a good night for the punt coverage team, as they only allowed two returns on five punts. The returns were for four and eight yards.
