If you've been thinking that NFL special teams this season have been particularly erratic, you're absolutely right. Despite the oddities that have marked the first 11 weeks, nothing could quite match the chaos that unfolded on Sunday. Kicker errors and mishaps have been abundant, but Sunday saw an unusually high number of blunders. The most glaring was Austin Seibert of the Washington Commanders. The seven-year veteran entered Sunday flawless on extra-points and 25 of 27 on field goal attempts this season. Then came the disaster against the Dallas Cowboys in a 34-26 Commanders loss. With 48 seconds left in the first quarter, Seibert missed a 51-yard field goal. After Jayden Daniels scored a touchdown, Seibert missed his first extra-point attempt of the season. Seibert's kickoff was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by KaVontae Turpin, giving the Cowboys a 27-17 lead. Seibert booted a 51-yard field goal with 1:40 left, narrowing the deficit to seven points. Dallas recovered Seibert's onside kick but were forced to punt. Daniels hit Terry McLaurin for an 86-yard touchdown. The score was 27-26, and all Seibert had to do was make the extra point to almost certainly send the game into overtime. He missed. Seibert tried an onside kick on the next play, and Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas returned it for a 34-yard touchdown. Seibert's haunted expression told the story.
Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley, the running back deemed expendable by the 2-9 New York Giants, rolled over a young Los Angeles Rams defense for 255 rushing yards and two TDs as the Eagles beat the Rams, 37-20. Pending the results of Monday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers, Barkley leapfrogged Baltimore’s Derrick Henry for the NFL’s lead in rushing yards with 1,392 yards to Henry’s 1,185. Barkley had touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards, and put up the ninth-most rushing yards in a single game in NFL history.
The Carolina Panthers played the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs much closer than expected. The game was 27-27 with 1:49 left after Carolina converted a two-point attempt. The Panthers gave the ball back to the Chiefs, hoping Patrick Mahomes wouldn’t do something ridiculous. With 48 seconds left, Mahomes ran for a 33-yard gain, setting up Spencer Shrader’s game-winning field goal as time expired.
Several kicking errors occurred on Sunday besides those of Seibert, a trend all season. Through the first 11 weeks of the 2024 season, kickers had made 84.9% of their field goals, and 96.5% of their extra point attempts. Over the last decade, field goal percentages were lower every season from 2014 though 2020, and the success rate is just one percentage point lower than last season’s 85.9%. This season’s extra point rate has been the highest since kickers booted an amazing 99.3% in 2014.
Late in the third quarter of Minnesota’s 30-27 win over the Chicago Bears, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold appeared to hit Jordan Addison on a 69-yard play. The question was whether Addison stepped out of bounds before he completed his after-catch trek. Per the broadcast replays, it appeared that he did – but after the officials reviewed the play, the original ruling was upheld.
No quarterback wants to be benched, but there is value in sitting a young signal-caller to process NFL playbooks and defense speeds. Bryce Young, who was looking like one of the league’s worst first overall draft picks, found himself on the bench in favor of Andy Dalton three games into the Panthers’ season. He didn’t get the starter’s job back until Week 8. Young has started to look more comfortable in his role post-benching.
Quarterback benchings don’t always work. In Big Blue’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, replacement Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito completed 21 of 31 passes for 189 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 83.9. 2024 first-round receiver Malik Nabers wasn’t targeted until the third quarter and was not happy about that.
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