The NFL welcomed a new “dynamic kickoff” for the 2024 season after fans spent years using the routine play as an excuse for a bathroom break and a chance to refill their beverages. The change paid immediate dividends, with several big kick returns in Week 1. Arizona Cardinals returner DeeJay Dallas became the first player to return a dynamic kickoff for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills. He is the first Cardinal to return a kick for a touchdown since 2015, although it didn’t help Arizona overcome Buffalo, which won 34-28.
“It’s almost like Cover 0,” Dallas said of the new kickoff coverage. “You know if you get past the first line of defense, you’re on to the kicker.”
Buffalo’s Brandon Codrington and the Chicago Bears’ DeAndre Carter penetrated that first line of defense during their own big returns Sunday, gaining 53 and 66 yards, respectively.
The early excitement drew rave reviews from fans.
“The kickoff is back,” one fan noted on X.
Former Stanford player Sam Schwartzstein originally designed the new kickoff for the XFL ahead of the spring league’s 2020 debut. Under the new rule, a kicker still boots the ball away from his own 35-yard line, but he’s alone on that half of the field.
The coverage team lines up at the opposing 40-yard line while the return team (except for the two returners) lines up 5 yards away at its own 35. Nobody except the designated returners can move until the ball touches the ground or a returner.
The goal of the redesigned play is twofold: promote more returns to keep fans engaged, and minimize high-speed collisions to keep players safe.
Only 21.8% of kickoffs were returned in 2023, and the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers was the final straw. All 13 kickoffs went into the end zone for touchbacks. Gone were the days of Devin Hester taking electrifying returns to the house. What was once appointment viewing was now a formality.
“I think kickoff stats, they speak for themselves,” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of officiating, said in December. “It’s a dead, ceremonial play today.”
Worse, that dead, ceremonial play was one of the most dangerous events in football. In the NFL, league officials reported that players were four times likelier to suffer a concussion on a kickoff than on a typical play from scrimmage.
The dynamic kickoff aimed to address both issues: the excitement and injuries. Though it’s too early to tell whether the injury rate will decrease, the early signs showed more returns.
Returns were back in a big way, 70%, during the preseason as teams acclimated to the new format.
Though the return rate dipped to 33% on Sunday, it’s still a stark increase over the 2021 rate.
Still, touchbacks are here to stay. In Week 1, 65% of the dynamic kickoffs sailed harmlessly into the end zone to start offenses at the 30-yard line. Even with just a handful of returns breaking big, many coaches will have their kickers aim for the end zone.
“There’s a lot of risk management decisions fighting over that yard and a half that’s associated with spotting the ball at the 30,” Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said last week, noting that the average return ends near the 28-yard line. “I think globally you’ll see a lot of teams err on the side of caution and not compete for that yard and a half and kick touchbacks.”
After more scouting and practice, NFL squads will likely bring new kickoff approaches for Week 2, which begins with Thursday’s game between the Bills and Miami Dolphins.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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