Lions special teams ranks as one of NFL’s best in 2020
The Detroit Lions special teams unit receives some well-deserved praise
Despite firing special teams coach Brayden Coombs prior to the end of the season, the Detroit Lions still featured one of the top units in the entire NFL. That’s what made Coombs’ dismissal so surprising at the time.
While interim head coach Darrell Bevell and the leadership group in Detroit opted to part ways with the up-and-coming coach in Coombs, his impact on special teams is undeniable. And his departure along with the parting of ways with both general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia means the Lions have forced a regime change in 2021.
But before we look to the future, the Lions got some much-deserved recognition for their play from last season. In Rick Gosselin’s annual NFL special teams rankings, released on SI.com recently, Detroit was ranked as having the third-best special teams unit in the entire league in 2020.
Here’s what Gosselin wrote about what was so special about the Lions’ special teams unit.
"” … Detroit was ultra-competitive on the kicking downs, especially with NFC Pro Bowl punter Jack Fox. The Lions blocked a league-high four kicks and finished first or with a share of first in four categories. There also were two second-place finishes, four more in the Top 5 and three more in the Top 10.”"
In Gosselin’s rankings, the Lions finished third in punt return average (12.8), third in punt coverage (5.52), third in punting yardage (49.1), second in net punting (44.8), first in opponent punting (41.3), second in opponent net punting (36.2), fifth in opponent field goal percentage (80.0), and first in blocked kicks (4),
The special teams’ two biggest stars are punter Jack Fox and kicker Matt Prater. A late practice squad addition at the end of the 2019 regular season, Fox was an absolute steal by the previous regime in Detroit.
The 24-year old Fox earn both Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors for his play in Detroit this past season. He ranked third in the NFL in gross average punt yards (49.1) and second in net average punt yards (44.8).
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Connecting on just 75.0% percent of his field-goal attempts in 2020, it was 36-year old Matt Prater’s worst performance since 2008. Of his 28 field goal attempts, he hit on only 21 of them. All of his misses came from at or beyond the 40-yard line. Prater also missed on three extra-point attempts last season, which was tied for the most misses he’s had during his 14-year career.