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New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead easily had the best game of his career in last Sunday’s matchup against Tampa Bay; his flawless performance saw six punts for 264 yards, with New Orleans’ special teams allowing just one return for 0 yards, with five of them pinning Tampa inside the 20-yard line. Moreover, his pop-up punt in the 4th quarter led to a crucial fumble recovery by Bennie Fowler III. Accordingly, Morstead is the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Congrats to @ThomasMorstead on being named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week! #Saints pic.twitter.com/FbKYzXsMOn
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 16, 2020
Nicknamed ‘The Leg’, Morstead is the epitome of a dark horse player. Special teams rarely gets the credit it deserves; as showcased in New Orleans’ Week 1 win, the unit is oftentimes the difference maker – particularly when needing to pick up the slack of a struggling offense. While the two interceptions, three sacks on Brady, blocked field goal and fumble recovery on the punt make the headlines, Morstead quietly put on a clinic with his Week 1 performance.
Though punters decidedly have much longer careers than the average NFL player, Morstead is one of three remaining Saints from Super Bowl XLIV – the other two being S Malcom Jenkins and Drew Brees. After being drafted in the fifth round of 2009, Morstead pulled off Ambush and hasn’t skipped a beat since.
New Orleans’ undoubtedly won Sunday’s matchup with quite a bit of help from special teams. Nice to see Morstead receive some very-much earned credit.
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