SAN JOSE, CA — When it comes to special teams in the NFL, nearly every team talks the talk – even if it’s merely lip service – regarding their often-crucial importance. But the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks walk the walk.
“We have such a good group of core guys – everybody’s bought in. I think that’s shown when we flipped some games,” Seattle kicker Jason Myers, who led the league with 171 points scored this season, told USA TODAY Sports.
“Everyone always says it’s one-third of the game, but not a lot of places where that’s true. Obviously, we do (believe it).”
Myers was quick to cite the investment from Seahawks general manager John Schneider, who signed him in free agency coming off a Pro Bowl season with the New York Jets in 2018 and added a four-year extension in 2023.
Schneider spent a fifth-round draft pick in 2018 − rare currency for a punter − on Michael Dickson, a second-team All-Pro who’s now on his third contract with the team. Then there was the midseason acquisition of wideout Rashid Shaheed, who’s had a massive special teams impact for the Seahawks – including three TD returns, highlighted by a 95-yarder to open (and effectively end?) the game in Seattle’s 41-6 divisional-round playoff rout of the San Francisco 49ers.
That was among many examples where a special teams play – particularly late in the season – proved pivotal for the Seahawks on their way to the NFC’s top playoff seed and, ultimately, their berth in Super Bowl 60:
In an 18-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15, Shaheed had 137 return yards while Myers accounted for all the scoring (6-for-6 on field goals) on a day when Seattle’s offense couldn’t find the end zone.
In their riveting 38-37 defeat of the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16, a victory that put the Seahawks in control of the conference’s No. 1 seed, Shaheed’s 58-yard punt return for a TD midway through the third quarter sparked their comeback from a 30-14 deficit.
Dickson’s towering third-quarter punt in windy conditions during the NFC championship game proved too much for the Rams’ Xavier Smith to handle, Seattle’s Dareke Young recovering the muff and setting up a TD pass from quarterback Sam Darnold on the next play (LA never led in the game from that point forward).
“They’re talented players,” Seahawks special teams coach Jay Harbaugh told USA TODAY Sports.
“We just have guys that are so about the team, from the weekly preparation to how they operate on game day. When a group of people has that mindset, it’s crazy how good you can get over time. I’m really thankful to be able to coach them. It’s been a blast.”
Jay Harbaugh, ‘underrated hero’
One of Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald’s first orders of business when the team hired him in 2024 was to recruit Harbaugh, with whom Macdonald had overlapped while with the Baltimore Ravens and University of Michigan.
“He’s kind of like an underrated hero behind this whole operation,” Macdonald said of Harbaugh amidst the Seahawks’ preparations to face the New England Patriots on Sunday.
“Great eye for talent, the way he got buy-in, and the way that he creatively coached these awesome fundamentals. … It was, like, a very, very easy decision to beg him to come to Seattle – and he’s done a tremendous job from Day One.
“Jay’s awesome.”
Harbaugh – the son of Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who will be in attendance Sunday with the rare opportunity to see one of his son’s games in person, and nephew of New York Giants coach John Harbaugh, his boss for three years in Baltimore – reciprocates his praise for Macdonald.
“Mike makes it really important,” Jay Harbaugh told USA TODAY Sports regarding Seattle’s investment in special teams, including the support of fellow coordinators Klint Kubiak (offense) and Aden Durde (defense).
“You’re never battling any of that, which happens in a lot of places. So, getting the staff support and buy-in is a great thing. And then the players making it their own and taking ownership and being able to provide their input and ideas – them being committed to the success of each unit and not chasing their own stats.”
Harbaugh specifically name-checked fullback Brady Russell as a player who could probably attain special teams stardom, such as it is, but willingly plays within the confines of the system for the betterment of the group. An undrafted free agent in 2023, Russell has played nearly 1,000 special teams snaps during his time in Seattle compared to 107 on offense. He has 24 tackles over the past two seasons.
But big tackles – just like big kicks and returns – can change the tide of a game, especially when teams are evenly matched, as they theoretically are in a Super Bowl.
“It goes both ways. It really can spark your team and the stadium,” said Harbaugh. “We’ve had a couple of instances where we’ve been on the wrong end of that – you feel that the other way, too. One thing Mike talks about is just the complementary football – which is cliché, but like most clichés, they’re that way because they’re true. … When you have a great play on special teams, and then the offense goes and punches it in after a long return, or the kickoff team gets a really violent tackle at the 25-yard line – you just kind of build that momentum.
“The team feeds off each other, it’s like a family in that sense.”
Brenden Schooler, an All-Pro special teams player who succeeded the great Matthew Slater in New England, has admired Harbaugh and the Seahawks from afar.
“I mean, (Seattle) literally flips a game in one play. You just feel the energy shift,” Schooler told USA TODAY Sports. “Being on the short end of that stick is not fun.’
He added Harbaugh and the Seahawks are “ahead of the curve” while scheming blocks on kickoff returns.
“I’ve watched them all year long,” said Schooler, “it’s been a lot of fun to watch those guys go to work.”
New England special teams coach Jeremy Springer told USA TODAY Sports: “They’ve got the right pieces in the right places – Jay’s done an unbelievable job for them.”
Patriots also thrive on special teams
In addition to Schooler, the Pats also have an All-Pro player in the third phase, return ace Marcus Jones – one of the team’s captains who also doubles as a slot cornerback.
“It’s like having a really good quarterback – you always have the opportunity to score,” Springer said of the impact of a dangerous return man. “When you have a really good returner back there, guys just block harder. Because they know, they don’t want to be the block that doesn’t spring the guy to a touchdown – so your guys play harder for him.
“He just elevates the team.”
While Springer lauded Shaheed’s speed and acceleration, he believes the gift possessed by Jones, who has three punt return TDs in four NFL seasons, is setting up his blocks.
New England is less experienced in the kicking game, long snapper Julian Ashby and kicker Andy Borregales both rookies – though Springer says both are “even keel” and not effectively rookies at this stage of the season.
“We’ve got some good players, too, and at the end of the day, it’s gonna be an identity war,” said Springer, “their identity on special teams and our identity.”
Will opportunity knock in the Super Bowl?
It’s been nearly three decades since Green Bay Packers returner Desmond Howard was named the MVP of Super Bowl 31, the only special teamer who’s ever garnered that honor. If someone is to replicate it Sunday, the key is being prepared to maximize a chance.
“As a specialist, returner – you can’t really force the game,” said Myers. “So you’ve just got to be ready for your opportunity.”
Newly elected Hall of Fame kicker Adam Vinatieri was a frequent Super Bowl hero for the Patriots. Ten players have returned a kickoff all the way, but none since Seattle’s Percy Harvin 12 years ago.
No one has ever returned a punt for a TD in the Super Bowl. Springer also notes that teams are generally at the point of the season when it’s harder to get quality special teams repetitions in practice.
“It’s pretty likely that if you’re on offense or defense, there’s something that you’re dying to call – that you’ve worked on and you’ve schemed up, (and) you’re probably gonna get to call it,” said Harbaugh, explaining that executing a specific special teams play requires so many conditions to be in proper alignment.
“You’ve got be ready to take advantage of the moment when it comes. That’s part of the nature of the beast for us.”
Unlike Candlestick Park, the 49ers’ previous home, Levi’s Stadium – the Super Bowl 60 venue, far removed from the windier bay – isn’t known for erratic conditions that can play havoc with the kicking game. Frankly, it’s much warmer and calmer than Seattle or New England at this time of year.
Maybe what’s expected to be ideal weather can foster a big play from the unsung guys often viewed as having suboptimal NFL jobs.
“I think you’ve got to be a little crazy to do this, running full speed into somebody. At the end of the day, man, it’s doing whatever you can to help the team – whether that’s me running down as a gunner, me covering kicks, blocking for Marcus,” said Schooler.
“It’s whatever you can do to help the team.”