It’s the least-discussed phase of the game, but special teams is an important one nonetheless. Especially for a Kansas City Chiefs team that hopes to still be playing football deep into January, there figure to be close games on the horizon that require proper execution on the margins.
Should it be worrisome that things seem far away from clicking just under a fifth of the way through the season, though? It depends on who you ask, and it also depends on which metric you use to measure success regarding that final dimension of the sport.
Internally, for example, Kansas City uses different grading scales and evaluation rubrics than analytics outlets and fans. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub made it clear this week that he knows his group isn’t where it needs to be, but he doesn’t think the sky is falling. It’s far too early to get a true read on the state of the union, in his eyes.
“We’re in the middle of the pack right now, but it’s so early,” Toub said. “It’s only three games in; there’s not enough plays, really. It’s usually around Week 6 where you can start looking at it and start saying, ‘This is what we are’ a little bit.”
Many aspects have proved to be challenging for KC through three weeks. Not only are the Chiefs 31st out of 32 teams in yards per punt return at 3.8, but their team punt return success rate (via TruMedia) is dead last at 10%. The next-closest club, the Detroit Lions, is double that. As far as overall special teams EPA is concerned, a ledger of -8.44 is 28th. Out of 21 franchises that qualify for penalty EPA, Toub’s unit is 17th at -0.48.
Kansas City is also stacking up poorly in some other categories. That list includes kicking EPA (-8.17, 25th), opponent net yards per punt (43.5, 25th) and opponent yards per punt return (18.0, 29th). It’s far from the gospel, but Pro Football Focus has dished out the second-lowest special teams grade to head coach Andy Reid’s squad with Week 4 arriving.
For the record, there are some things the Chiefs do right on special teams. They’re in the top 10 in average starting field position on both sides of the ball, which has an impact on drives. Punter Matt Araiza has also largely been one of the better players at his position in 2026 (first in net yards per punt). It isn’t a lifeless collection of talent; perhaps there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Youth might also play a role, which Toub certainly subscribes to.
“You know, we have a young group,” Toub said. “We have a lot of young players, we have a young football team. And the first place these guys play is for me, so we’ve got to understand that it’s going to be an ongoing thing here. We’re going to develop and keep getting better as the season goes on. That’s what you want.”
Some of this will get ironed out over time. In the return game, Toub alluded to both Nikko Remigio and Brashard Smith potentially having better days on the horizon. Kicker Harrison Butker, who remains up and down in his age-31 campaign, is believed to merely need to make an alignment tweak to establish a bit more consistency. First- and second-year players will inevitably grow more comfortable on return duty, whether it be in blocking or pursuit.
Toub’s early-tenure track record speaks for itself, but the Chiefs’ special teams have fallen flat far too often in recent years. It’s one thing to talk the talk and bank on the growth curve panning out in your favor — it’s another for it to actually happen.
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