Jets at Bengals: Special Teams Review

We've been breaking down this week's game against Cincinnati. We wrap up today's analysis with a look at the special teams.

Let's review the key contributions...

Kicking game - Bury your Ed in the sand

Special teams were a huge factor on Sunday and punter Lachlan Edwards had a rough game as he was routinely outkicked by Kevin Huber.

Five of his six punts - and also his free kick - had a net of 42 yards or less and the only one that didn't was also a bad kick that just got a lucky bounce and rolled for 55. He only put one inside the 20, so it's not like he was doing any directional punting. Huber did put two kicks into the end zone but he also landed three inside the 15-yard line, including one at the two-yard line to set up a safety.

Edwards was under pressure just the once as Frankie Luvu's man came around the edge.

Sam Ficken didn't help matters much on kick-offs. He did have one touchback, but this was with four seconds left in the first half and the Bengals had their players further upfield anticipating a squib kick. His other two were short and were returned to the 29 and 35-yard line. Ficken at least made both of his field goals, though.

On Bengals punts, the Jets sent a heavy rush one time and Harvey Langi got close to blocking it. However, he knocked the punter over and was lucky not to be flagged.

Return game - Berri disappointing

The return game didn't help much in the field position battle. Punt returner Braxton Berrios didn't get any returns as he took two fair catches and left three to bounce. One was downed at the two and the other two rolled into the end zone.

Ty Montgomery was back in the primary kick return role this week, but his only two returns saw the Jets start inside their 10 as Darryl Roberts and Ryan Griffin got called for holding. Griffin also missed a block on the first return.

Montgomery should have taken a knee on the first of those returns and then the Jets would have had the ball at the 25. You wonder if he'd be more likely to do that had he not been so underused on offense all year.

Kick coverage - Roberts the hero

The kick coverage units were a little better, holding Alex Erickson to just six punt return yards. They did give up a 25-yard kick-off return to out near the 40, though.

Roberts was a stand-out this week, atoning for his penalty by blowing up one return for a loss and beating his man downfield to force a fair catch. He and Tarell Basham were credited with two special teams tackles each.

BJ Bello continues to produce, as he, Langi and Marcus Maye were all also credited with a tackle. Langi had a missed tackle as well though.

The long kick-off return saw Vyncint Smith overpursue and Maye driven back 10 yards by his blocker. Bello and Luvu also overpursued on the first return.

Finally, the Bengals did miss a field goal and muffed two kicks but none of that came as a result of any pressure by the Jets. Daniel Brown almost got to a muffed punt before the return man could knock it out of bounds.

That's it for today's analysis. Don't forget to leave your suggestions for which players to look at in more detail in this week's 3-on-D and 3-on-O.