The Kansas City Chiefs never want to punt, but when they must do so, they're fortunate to have one of the league's absolute best in third-year punter Tommy Townsend. In fact, the 26-year-old Townsend was named the AFC "Special Teams Player of the Week" on Wednesday following another strong outing in the Chiefs' victory over Houston this past weekend.
Townsend averaged 42.5 yards-per-punt across four kicks in the win, dropping two punts inside the Texans' 20-yard line. Additionally, Houston's average starting field position following his punts was the 17.5-yard line, which marked the best of any punter in the AFC during Week 15.
He came through in the clutch, too, by pinning the Texans at their own 13-yard line with a 42-yard punt in overtime. A field goal would have won the game for Houston at that point in the contest, so every yard counted. Fittingly, the Chiefs' defense forced a turnover on the very next play.
It was just a continuation of what has been a tremendous year for Townsend, who ranks second among all qualified players in average distance this season (51.8 yards) and leads the NFL in net average distance (46.5 yards).
The Chiefs don't punt very often – Townsend ranks 30th in that category – but when called upon, he has routinely come through in a big way. It was no different this past Sunday, and he'll look to maintain his strong play this upcoming Saturday as the Chiefs take on the Seattle Seahawks.
