The 2024 Super Bowl may have been the final nail in the coffin for the old kickoff format, but the absolute lack of returns in the game, for the first time in NFL history, wasn't the sole reason the new dynamic kickoff rule was implemented this offseason.
Also contributing to its introduction was the fact that the league's yardage total on kickoff returns decreased by 16,587 yards in 2023 compared to 2013. The 55% decrease prompted the Competition Committee to reevaluate the entire format, and fast. It was clear the deficit was only bound to get worse, considering the difference in the 2023 return total and the 2003 total was a loss of 33,065 kickoff return yards, or 71%.
Two decades of data pointed toward a negative trend that needed to be stopped.
"That was what we tried to say to the membership," said Atlanta Falcons CEO Rich McKay, who is the NFL Competition Committee co-chairman. "We have to change this. We have to bring that action play back."
The first priority, of course, was the safety of the players. That has been the common denominator among all kickoff format changes throughout the years, including the elimination of the wedge in 2009 and the blindside block in 2019. The issue, though, was past adjustments simply led to more touchbacks and fewer returns.
So, the Competition Committee challenged special teams coaches to help create a format that would enable both safety and action. They were to use the setup deployed by the XFL as a guideline, since its results reflected the NFL's desires, and tweak as needed.
The revamped format was pitched at the Annual League Meeting in Orlando, Florida, and approved on March 26 by a vote of 29-3. A proposal needs support from 24 of the 32 teams to pass.
Coaches then used their offseason programs, training camp and preseason games to teach and practice what was ultimately dubbed the dynamic kickoff. The rule's regular-season debut was Sept. 5, when the Kansas City Chiefs opened the 2024 season against the Baltimore Ravens.
"I would say I was a little bit (nervous) because I think none of us knew exactly what to expect," McKay said. "And yet, we did expect that early in the season there'd be a lot of touchbacks, which is OK. But I think anytime you make a major change, you want to see the impact."
WHAT IS THE NEW FORMAT?
Upon first glance, it's blatantly obvious the dynamic kickoff is very different from iterations of the past.
Truly, the only thing that hasn't changed in the slightest is where the ball is kicked from, and that's the kicking team's 35-yard line.
Here is a brief rundown of the new rules:
- Apart from the kicker, the kicking team now starts at the receiving team's 40-yard line.
- The receiving team is just 5 yards away between its 35- and 30-yard line in what is called the setup zone.
- At least seven players must have a foot on their 35-yard line, known as the restraining line, and follow certain alignment requirements.
- A maximum of two returners may be in the landing zone, which is the area between the receiving team's goal line and 20-yard line.
"It still, to your eyes, looks funny," McKay said. "We've always had a line of scrimmage. We've always had a ball on that line of scrimmage. We've always lined up on it. To see this lineup, people are still going to say, 'Wow, this doesn't look normal.' I believe they'll get accustomed to that. But I think that 5-yard cushion between the kicking team and the receiving team has eliminated that 30-yard run that was creating a lot of the problems."
The problems being injuries.
Under the old rule, once the kicker made contact with the ball, players were on the go, running after it at full speed.
Now, nobody aside from the kicker and returners can move until the ball hits the ground or a player.
"Honestly, the field position, it is kind of drastic," said linebacker DeAngelo Malone, who has taken 82% of the Falcons' special teams snaps this season. "Everybody is so used to just going when the ball is kicked. But just taking that pause, it honestly gives you time to think about the play, how to set it up and things like that. It's fine."
It is one of the major changes, though, because players must break that instant takeoff muscle memory or else, it's a penalty.
Where the ball lands then dictates the returner's responsibility or the offense's starting position.
Any kick that is short of the landing zone automatically gives the offense the ball at the 40-yard line. All kicks inside the landing zone must be returned. A kick that hits the landing zone and goes into the end zone must be returned or downed; if downed, it is a touchback to the 20-yard line. Any kick that lands in, bounces out of or goes beyond the end zone is a touchback to the 30-yard line, unless an in-bounds one is returned.
"There's always going to be strategy anytime you take the field, and it's based off complementary football," Falcons special teams assistant Steven King said. "If you feel like your defense is excelling, 'Hey, just put it out there and take the touchback; put them on the field, let them start at the 30-yard line.' Or, if you feel like you need a boost, 'Hey, let's make the returner make a decision, let's hang it up by the goal line and let's see if we can create energy and juice and excitement for our team taking the field.'"
"Or," Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams said. "Even a step further, let's say you have injuries on your team. Your team's banged up that week, and your coverage team is not the same as it was the previous week. Then, OK, just be smart and kick touchbacks because we're kind of deficient in that area for this week. Or let's say there's injuries that happen during the game."
Same thing. Intentional touchback.
When teams don't opt for a touchback, the landing zone helps force the return. There is no option to fair catch anymore. The kicker either puts the ball out of play, or the returner is off running.
"What I will say is that the dynamic kickoff has brought situational football to light a lot more than in the past," King said. "You always got to be on your toes and two steps ahead, because it comes quick and it comes fast."
WHAT DO THE NUMBERS SAY?
It's too soon to declare the dynamic kickoff an overall success when it comes to the No. 1 priority of player safety. Preseason findings show promise. But McKay and the Competition Committee won't give a full stamp of approval until the season is over.
That cautious optimism matches his feelings toward the on-field product, too.
"What I like about the play so far is the numbers," McKay said. "We're beginning to see more returns. We're beginning to see teams say, 'I don't like the touchback at the 30, so I'm going to put the ball in play.'"
Through Week 8, there have been 1,271 kickoffs with 399 returns and 839 touchbacks. That's a 31.4% return rate and a 66.0% touchback rate.
In 2023, those stats at this same point in the season were 1,217 kickoffs with 231 returns (19%) and 939 touchbacks (77.2%).
So, year over year, returns have already increased by 72.7% and touchbacks have decreased by 10.6%.
"Let's not act like that's a huge change," McKay said. "Because we were at the 20% (return) mark last year. We're up to 30% and clearly want to go much further than that down the road."
It's a good start.
"I'm surprised a little bit that there haven't been more trick plays that coaches, I think, sit up at night dreaming about," McKay said. "But I think it's because of the quality of the kickers in our game today. Whether it's the punter kicking off or the kicker kicking off, it's at an all-time high. You can see that by our field goal numbers. You can see that by our punting numbers. And you can certainly see it by the ability of guys to kick the ball off in really creative ways. Whether that's landing it at the 15 or whether that's landing it at the 0.5-yard line, they're very good at it."
Of the 1,249 non-onside kickoffs this season, only 11 (0.9%) have fallen short of the 20-yard line or gone out of bounds, 251 (20.1%) have hit inside the landing zone and 986 (78.9%) went into or through the end zone.
Ideally, the landing zone would house the most kicks. Because of the 399 returns, 238 (59.6%) started in the landing zone and 160 (40.1%) started in the end zone. (For those adding up the math, the one return missing was due to an onside kick that went far enough to be returned.)
"That's what we want," McKay said. "Those are action plays. Those are plays that actually happen and create competition as opposed to the touchback, which is one player kicking the ball and nobody else really doing anything."
When the dynamic kickoff was announced, external ideas to capitalize on the new layout swirled in the media. Maybe a defensive player should kick to provide another tackler in coverage. Maybe the amount of touchdown returns would spike as teams navigate unfamiliar territory. Maybe this, maybe that.
The possibilities seemed endless.
Well, the reality hasn't been this wild turn of events.
A defensive player hasn't taken over kickoff responsibilities, despite the Kansas City Chiefs using safety Justin Reid to kick in the past.
"The last thing you want is somebody who's not used to kicking the ball to kick it and it not go to the 20-yard line and the team gets the ball at the 40," Falcons punter Bradley Pinion said. "It's just a lot of risk vs. reward there, that you got to figure out if the risk is worth the reward."
As for kickoffs returned for a touchdown, the tally is at three; each one scored by a different player in Weeks 1, 6 and 7.
"There's a reason why it's a single digit for the record for kickoff returns scored (nine by Cordarrelle Patterson) in NFL history," King said. "It's not easy. Long distance and a lot of people in small space of area."
It's important to remain realistic. The league didn't completely reinvent the wheel – or in this case, special teams – with the dynamic kickoff. Sure, it's vastly different. But at the end of the day, it's football.
The anticipation shouldn't stem from extravagant plans but rather more nuanced ones.
"I think it is more exciting because there's still so many unknowns on this play," Williams said. "You're seeing new schemes each and every week. You're seeing different coverages each and every week. You're seeing — you don't know. Sometimes you don't know what to expect."
WHAT CAN THE FUTURE HOLD?
Like with anything, the more reps teams get, the more comfortable they'll be. Perhaps then, they'll be willing to experiment some more. If not, the dynamic kickoff is still on track to make things more captivating as the season progresses.
Fatigue can set in. Injuries can change lineups. Trick plays can develop.
Weather will get colder.
Only 10 of the 30 NFL stadiums are domes or have a roof of some kind. That leaves 20 vulnerable to outside conditions, and those are on everybody's radar.
"You're going to have to cover those kicks, and those kicks just aren't going to go out the back of the end zone anymore," Pinion said. "Everybody's moving maybe just a little bit slower because it's really cold outside. It's going to be really interesting to see, in my opinion, at end of the season when you kind of get to, I call it, the regular-season playoffs, where you got a team trying to make the playoffs."
Teams are already giving it all they've got at that point anyway.
Last season, three of the six wild card games were played at an outdoor stadium. The divisional round had three outside as well. Both conference championships were, too. The Super Bowl was not.
The NFL postseason takes place in January and February, when it's colder everywhere — there's no escaping the elements if not indoors.
"Weather has an absolute impact because the ball just doesn't travel as far, and accordingly, there will be more returns," McKay said. "That's a given. Just a question of how many."
Mix that with teams' ongoing efforts to get creative, kickoffs during the second half of the season could look very different from the first.
Teams have already tested the waters a bit with what they can and can't accomplish within the new guidelines, especially in desperate scenarios.
For example, when the Falcons hosted the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, the Saints were down by two points with two seconds remaining on the clock. The Falcons had just taken the lead with a 58-yard field goal from kicker Younghoe Koo. When Koo kicked off on the next play, Saints returner Rashid Shaheed had no choice but to return it from the end zone. Shaheed made it 15 yards before throwing a lateral pass to teammate Jamaal Williams in hopes of a miracle. Falcons' Richie Grant was quickly there, though, to make the tackle and secure the victory.
"That was a gotta-have-it situation where we covered a kick and their team returned it," Williams said. "They were trying to win the game on that. They did a fake reverse throwback that was pretty fun. I know everybody on the sideline was on the edge of their seats. But our guys were locked in and ready to go."
That's just an Atlanta-specific case, too. There have been standout moments all around the NFL. Even as recently as Week 8, when Detroit Lions returner Khalil Dorsey broke out a 72-yard return against the Tennessee Titans. It marked the fifth-longest return overall and second-longest non-touchdown return.
In fact, the 18 big-play kickoff returns — returns of at least 40 yards — through Week 8 were the most since 2020.
"Once you see that it's actually in process and going to work, then you have to get to work on making it work for you," McKay said. "I think that's what I give the credit to the coaches and to the teams that weren't big fans of it and so forth. They're doing it, and they're trying to make it work for them. I think you've seen even the bigger detractors find ways to make the play work for them, and that's a good thing."
The Lions hold the strongest average at 35.5 yards per kickoff return. The Houston Texans (33.4) and Dallas Cowboys (31.1) round out the top three.
The bottom three are the Cleveland Browns (22.9), the Minnesota Vikings (22.4) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (21.0).
The NFL, as a whole, is averaging 27.0 yards per kickoff return entering Week 9. That average has only improved for the most part. The hope is it will continue to do so.
"So far, I'm happy with it because I am one that, like a lot of people in the league, said we need to keep special teams in the game," McKay said. "And if the kickoff were to come out of the game, that would be a dramatic impact to special teams."
