Massive uptick in NFL kickoff returns in Week 1

A humble alteration to the NFL's kickoff rules made a monolithic interaction connected Week 1, producing the highest single-week instrumentality complaint successful 15 years.

In the league's archetypal slate of regular-season games since the touchback was moved to the 35-yard line, teams returned 118 of 156 kickoffs for a 75.6% instrumentality rate. The past clip the NFL had a higher instrumentality complaint for a azygous week was Week 17 of the 2010 season.

Last weekend's games were peculiarly uncommon compared to different caller opening weeks. The past clip the NFL had a instrumentality complaint higher than 50% successful Week 1 besides was 2010 (78.1%).

The NFL overhauled its kickoff anterior to the 2024 play aft much than a decennary of declining instrumentality rates, caused mostly by regularisation changes that incentivized teams to prosecute touchbacks and little the fig of concussions and different injuries. In 2023, lone 21.8% of kickoffs were returned -- the fewest since astatine slightest 2000 and apt successful the modern past of the game. Not a azygous kickoff was returned successful Super Bowl LVIII astatine the extremity of that season.

After analyzing a caller alignment that archetypal appeared successful the XFL during its 2020 season, the NFL's peculiar teams coaches recommended a caller attack for 2024.

Instead of reducing the fig of returns, they suggested an alignment that minimized the fig of high-speed collisions. The kickoff present begins with astir players already lasting downfield, alternatively than moving astatine afloat velocity to get there. They tin statesman to screen the footwear arsenic soon arsenic the shot touches the crushed oregon a subordinate of the instrumentality team.

The archetypal 2024 connection called for touchbacks to beryllium spotted astatine the 35-yard line, which league rule-makers believed would beryllium a almighty inducement for coaches to footwear a returnable ball. But it was changed to the 30-yard enactment arsenic a compromise successful bid to make capable enactment from owners to o.k. the rule.

The full-season instrumentality complaint successful 2024 improved to 32.8% but fell good abbreviated of the league's goal. The mean thrust aft a kickoff instrumentality started astatine the 28.8-yard line, and truthful astir coaches preferred the certainty of a touchback successful speech for an further 1.2 yards.

This spring, however, owners approved a revival of the 35-yard touchback connection successful March. Coaches acknowledged they would beryllium little apt to speech that certainty for an further 5 yards of tract position, and successful Week 1 they followed through.