Ravens Special Teams Having Another Stellar Season

Baltimore ranks No. 1

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens' special teams have been dominant throughout the season.

They are currently ranked No. 1 among all NFL teams, according to Football Outsiders.

The Ravens have ranked in the top 10 for special teams for 10 consecutive years.

This has been an especially exceptional season. 

Entering Week 17, 2021 Devin Duvernay owns a 14.4 punt return average, ranking No. 1 in the NFL. His 360 punt return yards also stand as the NFL’s most. Duvernay was named to the Pro Bowl in just his second year as a pro.

Kicker Justin Tucker has converted 29 of 31 field-goal attempts and also made the Pro Bowl  Tucker, who the Ravens signed as a rookie free agent, owns the NFL’s most FGs (320) since entering the NFL in 2012. With a 90.9% career success mark, Tucker is the most accurate kicker in league history (320-of-352 on FGAs). 

Earning his first Pro Bowl nod in 2015, punter Sam Koch’s 46.7 gross average ranked No. 9 in the NFL that season, while his 42.9 net average was No. 2. In 2017, Koch led the NFL in both punts inside the 10 (16) and the 20 (a franchise-record 40).

Chris Horton took over as the special teams coach in 2019 following the retirement of longtime special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg. Horton served as Rosburg’s assistant for three seasons (2016-18) and maintained that unit's dominance. 

“It’s a long season, right? We talk about it all the time," special team coach Chris Horton said about being ranked No. 1. "That’s good – when that stuff comes up – but I’ll tell you one thing: that’s the least of my concerns right now. It’s about playing as well as we possibly can play every Sunday. And if we do that, those things will take care of themselves, and at the end of the year, you see where you stand. But it’s about winning games. How can we help our team win football games, and are we doing those things? We’re creating good plays. And I tell these guys all the time, in our phase of the game, good is good, but we want to be great, because if we create great plays, then we’re changing the game. 

"So, we want to make sure we continue to do that. Stats, and where we rank and all that stuff, that stuff will take care of itself at the end of the year. Our guys just need to go out and play our style of football.”