Well, that didn't take long.
After nearly two years without a Detroit Lion winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, they've now gone back-to-back. Punter Jack Fox takes home the honor this time one week after EDGE D.J. Wonnum earned the award for his game-saving block against the Green Bay Packers.
For Fox, it's his second time winning the weekly honor. His first came in Week 3 of 2024 in the 20-13 win against the Arizona Cardinals, where his five punts averaged 49.4 yards, with four of them pinning the Cardinals inside their own 20.
Fox came up big in a similar way on Sunday in what was also a tightly contested win against the then-undefeated Minnesota Vikings.
Jack Fox carried the Lions' special teams unit in Week 8
Fox only punted four times against the Vikings, averaging 46.5 yards per punt. Three of those punts pinned the Vikings within their own 20, with an average starting field position of their own 14.25-yard line.
The Vikings would go on to score one touchdown, while punting twice and throwing an interception to cornerback D.J. Reed on their subsequent drives.
After those four Vikings drives ended, the Lions would score on three of their following drives — two field goals and a touchdown. On the two drives the Vikings punted, the Lions' average starting field position was their own 42.5-yard line.
And, not to be overlooked, Fox is the holder for kicker Jake Bates. Bates did miss his first FG of the season, but made his other two to go along with his lone extra point. In a four-point victory, Bates' seven points made a difference for the Lions, as well as the field position advantage Fox provided.
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The weekly honor underscores the remarkable season for Fox. Fox's average yards per punt (47.9) is up from last season (46.6), and his net punt average (43.7) would be the third -best mark in his career.
On top of that, his 12 times pinning opposing teams in their own 20 is on pace for a career-high, which was set last season (28), but his return yards given up (65) are on pace to be 78 yards fewer than in 2025.
The Lions are sitting pretty at 5-2, and much of the attention has been on the offense. Hopefully, these past two weeks of awards appropriately highlight just how fantastic the special teams unit has been this season and how significant a role they've played in that 5-2 record.
If not, maybe a threepeat of the award after this Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins would do the trick.
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