Las Vegas Raiders kicker and punter Daniel Carlson and A.J. Cole III got plenty of airtime under the primetime lights. As did their New York Jets counterparts Greg Zuerlein and Thomas Morstead.
Thus, if you’re a special teams aficionado, like me, you got to see four specialists put on a show inside Allegiant Stadium in the nightcap of Week 10.
But only one side can come away victorious. Sunday, it was Carlson, Cole, and Vegas (5-5) that notched a 16-12 win over Zuerlein, Morstead, and the Jets (4-5). It marked one of the rare occasions this season that Las Vegas’ elite kick squad was bested by their counterparts. But there’s a caveat.
First the stats…
Check this: The trusty Zuerlein (seven years older than Carlson at age 35) scored all of New York’s points by hitting all four of his field goals at varying distances. With the Jets unable to avoid mistakes on offense, New York again could only muster points off of Zuerlein’s foot. Not ideal, but a standout performance, nonetheless.
Morstead (who is 10 years older than Cole at age 37), meanwhile, was called upon five times to punt, and the super veteran booted them for a total of 276 yards for a robust 55.2 yards per punt average. His longest kick was a 62-yarder, but he did have two boots land in the end zone for touchbacks.
What about Raiders K Daniel Carlson?
Carlson, on the other hand, was also perfect in his field goal tries, going 3-for-3 from varying distances, including a season-long 54-yard boot. Carlson’s involvement wasn’t due to the Raiders being mistake-prone. On the contrary, his boots arrived due to the Jets’ stout defense forcing Las Vegas to go to Carlson, as only one official touchdown occurred Sunday night.
Flip the script, and Cole was his usual field-flipping self, as he too was called upon five times to punt the ball and blasted each one for distance. He racked up 253 total yards for an impressive 50.6 average per boot with a long of 63. Only one of his bombs landed in the end zone, with three punts landing inside the Jets’ 20-yard line. For a team that struggles offensively, being pinned near their own end zone caused challenges for the Jets.
But here’s where the caveat I mentioned earlier comes into play…
Cole may have been bested by the average per boot, but where a punter’s true mettle is determined is net yards—the number of yards with return and touchback yards subtracted from the total. Morstead’s numbers, minus the 49 punt return yards and the touchbacks, give him 187 yards on the night. And, when you calculate the average based on his five punts, that impressive 55.2 average yardage plummets to 37.4. Cole’s net yards totaled 228 based on the five return yards and one touchback, giving him a net average of 45.6 on his five punts.
A booming punter is only good if he can keep the ball in play. Despite having the “stronger” leg on the night, Cole came out on top compared to Morstead.
On the year, Cole remains tops in the league in net average with 47.1. The next closest are the Dallas Cowboys’ Bryan Anger (44.8) and the San Francisco 49ers’ Mitch Wishnowsky (44.4). Cole does trail the Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Stonehouse for average per boot (52.7), but the Raiders’ specialist’s 51.8 average is nothing to scoff at.
Carlson hasn’t quite been his typical self. He remains in the middle of the pack in field goal attempts, tied for 10th with six other kickers at 20 attempts in 2023. His 85 percent conversion rate on kicks is good for 19th in the league.
*Top Photo: NFL Spin Zone