KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Special teams have been an adventure thus far this season for the otherwise fundamentally sound Kansas City Chiefs (9-2).
The shenanigans continued early in week 12 when rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore muffed the Rams' first punt of the game, misplaying the ball between his legs before a gallivanting stampede of Rams recovered possession in plus territory.
“That's my responsibility,” head coach Andy Reid said of the play, Moore’s third such fumble this season.
Moore has averaged only 6.1 yards on 14 punt returns so far this season.
“It didn't work out as well as we hoped. But we'll figure it out. We'll get it right,” Reid said, calling Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub one of the league’s best.
The 54th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft didn’t return punts during his three-year career at Western Michigan. In comparison, second-year wide receiver Kadarius Toney averaged 11.6 yards per punt return in 38 games at the University of Florida.
“I'm not going to put that on Skyy,” Reid continued. “We've asked him to learn that and go in there and do it…You don't know until you stick them in front of 70,000 people in the National Football League at the highest level. That's how they're gonna respond."
Reid put emphasis on the youth of the special teams group as a whole.
"We're playing a number of young guys," Reid said. "We're anticipating things (will) get better (and) we've gotten better in some areas. We'll keep working through it."
A fake punt executed by Los Angeles late in the second quarter caught the Chiefs asleep at the wheel for the second time this season. Reid added the unit prepared in practice for the possibility of a fake but just “got got."
Despite the inconsistencies in the return game, and the unit overall, Moore has provided an important spark in Kansas City’s passing attack, finishing the last two weeks with 99 yards on 10 total receptions.
“I was proud of him for stepping right up and going,” Reid said. “He had some nice plays for us.”
Reid says the team will continue to evaluate other options at returner, including new addition Justin Watson, who filled in Sunday after Moore’s first-quarter flub.
Toney, who was returning punts for the team before suffering a hamstring injury against the Chargers, is day-to-day, according to Reid.
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