Chiefs’ rookie punter Tommy Townsend named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week
Chiefs rookie punter Tommy Townsend had himself a game against the New Orleans Saints Sunday.
The NFL rewarded the performance Wednesday morning by naming Townsend as the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Townsend totaled a career-high six punts for 253 yards, landing three of them inside the Saints’ 20-yard line to help flip field position in the Chiefs’ 32-29 win. He also produced a 61-yard punt.
The weekly recognition is the first of Townsend’s career and he joins former Chiefs punters Louie Aguiar (1995) and Dustin Colquitt (2015) to secure the honor.
After the Chiefs released Colquitt, who played 15 seasons in Kansas City, during the offseason, Townsend was projected to battle Tyler Newsome for the starting job.
The Chiefs made the decision to go with Townsend by cutting Newsome before the start of training camp and haven’t looked back.
Townsend, who joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Florida, is averaging 45.5 yards per punt in 2020.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 9:25 AM.
