The NFL's new 'dynamic kickoff" rules has produced more KO returns as hoped, although a lot of teams still seem content to boom touchback kicks and let opponents take the ball at their 30.
But when the testimony turns to excitement on the kicks that teams are returning, the Jets could be Exhibit A after Kenny Nwangwu led the way in lighting MetLife Stadium up, if only temporarily, against the Seahawks.
"I'm just trying to prove myself every day, and not waste a day, attack it like you're going to play Sunday," Nwangwu said after practice this week, still hearing about the game past against the Seattle while preparing as a member of the active roster for the ga,e ahead at Miami. "It's going out and believing in yourself, knowing you're the player you think you are."
He's made believers of his teammates, not to mention IHC Jeff Ulbrich and ST coordinator Brant Boyer.
"What you saw on that return we seein practice every single day," Boyer said. "He was just working his butt off, and when you get your opportunity, you want to make the most of it. That's what he did and we're happy to have him, for sure."
Nwangwu may have been new to many Jets fans, but he'd done kickoff-return house calls for several years before his 99-yard mad dash gave the Jets their temporary 21-7 second-quarter lead.He had three return TDs with the Vikings in 2021-22 combined.
So his Jets TD gave him four in four NFL seasons, a frequency that has been achieved a number of times in league history but not so much lately — Nwangwu and Cordarrelle Patterson are the only ones to go 4-for-4 in the last 10 seasons.
Then besides his 99-yarder, Nwangwu also had 28- and 30-yard KO returns, giving him a 52.3 yards/return average. That's the second-best in franchise history for 3-plus returns in a game, behind only the 57.0 recorded by Justin Miller vs. the Colts in 2006.
A Most X-cellent KO-Return Sidekick
Then let's not overlook the X-man. Xavier Gipson was back with Nwangwu on all six kickoffs by former Jet for a season Jason Myers. Gipson returned two for 45 and 36 yards (the sixth was a touchback). And the return numbers for the day — 5-for-238 for 47.6 — were not only Green & White but also NFL-significant.
The 238 total kickoff return yards are the 9th most by the Jets in a game and the most since going 9-for-291 at San Diego in Brett Favre's third game as Jets QB. And the 47.6 average is the most in a game in franchise history.
League-wise, if we increase our floor to five-plus returns, only three other teams since 1950 have averaged more than the Jets' 47.6. Oddly, perhaps, before Sunday the last two have come in the Meadowlands, although only one was at MetLife when the Giants , when the Giants ran past the Saints, 52-27. The other was Ted Ginn's 2-TD, 299-yard return game in the Dolphins' 30-25 win over the Jets at old Giants Stadium in '09:
| Season | Team | Opp | KO Rets | Yds/Ret | Primary Returner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Lions | @ LA Rams | 7 | 51.7 | Vitamin Smith |
| 2009 | Dolphins | @ Jets | 6 | 49.8 | Ted Ginn Jr. |
| 2012 | Giants | vs NO | 6 | 47.8 | David Wilson |
| 2024 | Jets | vs SEA | 5 | 47.6 | Nwangwu/Gipson |
Takeaways Any Way They Can Take Them
Finally, some trivia on those fumble recoveries. Nwangwu punched the ball out o rookie Dee Williams' grasp with Brandon Echols recovering at the Seattle 27 to set up the Jets' second touchdown of the first quarter. It was Echols' third takeaway this season, to go with his two interceptions, the only picks the Jets have through 12 games. Quincy Williams has two takeaways and no other Jet has more than one.
Further, it was the first forced fumble of Nwangwu's three NFL seasons, covering 27 games. It was also the first Jets force on an opponent kickoff return since Anthony Wint, who played only two NFL games, both with the Jets in 2018, pried a ball loose that the Jets recovered and converted into their fifth TD and a 35-20 lead over Green Bay at MetLife. But fans may remember that Aaron Rodgers was then the visiting QB and led the Packers back with a pair of 1-yard TD sneaks and a 2-point conversion run for their 44-38 overtime victory.
Finally, when Laviska Shenault lost the handle on another kickoff return and Anders Carlson was there to cover the ball, more Green & White history was made. Carlson is believed to be the first Jets kicker to recover an opponent's fumble in a game, and the Jets recovered two opponent kickoff-return fumbles in the same game.
Besides Nwangwu, Boyer's been working with a gung-ho crew of specialists this year.
"These guys are steady-Eddie, do things right. It made me proud as hell to see how hard those guys were playing, with the strain and the effort they've been playing with. It has been fantastic. Now we're playing a hell fo a unit this week and we've got to show up and be consistent and keep getting better and better."
