Each week seems to bring another Green Bay Packers special teams blunder.
You could have written that sentence about the Packers’ bumbling special teams last year, and it would have been just as true. Same as the year before — and the year before that. It’s beginning to seem less like a historical problem than some kind of black-magic curse.
Green Bay has already gone through three kickers this year. Last week, the Packers muffed a punt against the Houston Texans and dropped the opposing offense off on the doorstep of the end zone. At the end of the game, a poor snap on the game-winning field goal attempt nearly spelled disaster. If not for a heroic effort from Irish punter Daniel Whelan, the Packers would have lost the game.
These blunders are not isolated incidents, and they have often cost the Packers dearly in big moments. At some point, it’s not just the personnel. Plenty of guys who have been in special teams spots have made the same mistake as their predecessors. Ultimately, it falls back on the man calling the shots, the highest-paid special teams coordinator in the NFL: Rich Bisaccia.
Bisaccia became Green Bay’s special teams coordinator and assistant head coach before the 2022-23 season after he served as the Las Vegas Raiders’ interim head coach. The Packers had a long history of dreadful special teams performances before Bisaccia arrived, and they made him the highest-paid special teams coordinator in the NFL as a show of force to prove their commitment to improving the teams unit.
Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) is a reliable way to quantify each unit’s performance. DVOA is “a team’s success based on the down-and-distance of each play during the season, then calculates how much more or less successful each team is compared to the league average.”
The Packers are fifth and 13th in DVOA on offense and defense, respectively. The defense might not have been quite as consistent, but when you consider their current trajectory and factor in their league-leading 17 forced turnovers, the Pack has two elite units.
The DVOA of the Packers special teams unit? 27th in the league. PFF has the Packers’ special teams ranked dead last in the NFL. Since Bisaccia became the coordinator for Green Bay, the Packers DVOA rankings in special teams are as follows:
- 2022-23: 17th
- 2023-24: 31st
- 2024-25: 27th
That’s unacceptable for the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL. In Year 3 of his regime, Bisaccia still makes mistakes with his players.
Last week against the Texans, we saw Keisean Nixon fail to recover a punt that led to reserve cornerback Corey Ballentine accidentally touching the ball. The Texans’ recovery gave them the lead back shortly thereafter. That’s a huge mistake in an obvious fair-catch situation.
Later in the game, Jayden Reed was back to return a punt and called for a fair catch when the ball was inside the 10. In that situation, you need to let that ball go. That forced the Packers to drive nearly the entire length of the field.
Two different returners, both with experience, made fundamental mistakes that were detrimental to Green Bay’s efforts in their home win against the Texans.
Bisaccia also hasn’t developed a kicker in the post-Mason Crosby era.
Bisaccia was credited with helping develop now All-Pro kicker and former Minnesota Vikings castoff Daniel Carlson. The Packers probably hoped Bisaccia could do something like this in Green Bay. However, Bisaccia failed to develop Daniel’s brother, Anders Carlson, last season. As a result, they signed rookie Brayden Narveson immediately before camp. He also was a bust.
Former Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus stepped in and provided a clutch game-winning kick for the Packers last week. However, he’s 33 and is not a long-term option for the Packers. Instead, he’s more like a Band-Aid.
There are some saving graces for Green Bay’s special teams, mostly thanks to sheer individual effort from two players.
Whelan has been a tremendous pickup at punter. He was crucial in flipping the field for the Packers against the Texans and has been one of the better punters in the NFL this season.
Whelan ranks sixth in average net punt yards with 43.9 and is 15th in the NFL in average punt yards at 48 yards per punt. The former undrafted free agent has helped to solidify Green Bay’s punting situation after they cycled through several guys over the last few seasons.
Nixon is the other standout. When they hired Bisaccia three years ago, the Packers signed the two-time All-Pro return man from the Raiders. He’s also contributed on defense, but teams is still where he shines.
Aside from those individual efforts of Whelan and Nixon, the Packers specialist units have been inconsistent at best.
Ultimately, blame for Green Bay’s continued special teams follies resides squarely on the man calling the shots. Bisaccia came to Green Bay to turn their greatest weakness into a strength, but he’s failed to deliver on that promise.
All stats and data via ESPN, PFF, Football Reference, and the Green Bay Packers unless otherwise noted.