Jalen Saunders opened yesterday’s action with a 99-yard kickoff return, and I thought that was interesting on two levels.
For starters, it’s the exactly the kind of impact and return the Jets were hoping for when they selected Saunders with a fourth-round pick. New York released Saunders earlier in the year, and that looks like a mistake. Saunders also had a 32-yard punt return the previous weekend – he’s added a spark to New Orleans’ special teams (previous, the Saints had been about the worst return teams in the league).
On said Saints. Saunders on this return got stopped on the 1-yard line, setting up the opening touchdown by Mark Ingram.
Note that the Saints last year were the only team that didn’t score a touchdown on a return of a takeaway or a kickoff return. With Saunders getting stopped just short, they’re on the verge of going a second straight season without one of those touchdowns.
In the last 20 years, no other team has done this. In the last 20 years, only three other teams have managed to have just one of these touchdowns in a two-year period. In the last 20 years, only 19 other teams have gone a season without one of those touchdowns.
| YEAR AFTER NO TOUCHDOWNS ON RETURNS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | TD |
| 1994 | New England | 4 |
| 1995 | Denver | 1 |
| 1997 | Atlanta | 2 |
| 1998 | Chicago | 6 |
| 1998 | Buffalo | 2 |
| 1998 | Carolina | 4 |
| 1999 | Philadelphia | 6 |
| 1999 | Indianapolis | 5 |
| 2005 | Jacksonville | 3 |
| 2005 | Dallas | 2 |
| 2008 | Philadelphia | 2 |
| 2010 | Oakland | 7 |
| 2010 | Washington | 3 |
| 2010 | Jacksonville | 1 |
| 2011 | St. Louis | 2 |
| 2011 | Houston | 2 |
| 2011 | NY Giants | 1 |
| 2013 | Detroit | 4 |
| 2013 | Oakland | 4 |
| 2014 | New Orleans | 0 |
These kind of touchdowns involve some luck, but they’re an important part of the game.
When the Eagles started this season 9-3, it was on the strength of a league-high 10 touchdowns by the defense and special teams. When the Saints won their Super Bowl (following the 2009 season) it was with 9 TDs on defensive and special teams in the regular season, and with the capping Pick Six off Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter of the championship game.
—Ian Allan