You had to see this one coming. One could argue no player was more valuable on the field in Jacksonville last Sunday than punter Marquette King. As I laid out when I named him Top Baller for the week, he was outstanding not just with one leg, but with two.
King punted two 60-yarders in the game, along with a 57-yarder and a 56-yarder. He pinned the Jaguars inside their own 10-yard line twice and inside their own 20 on four of his five punts.
His shortest punt was a sky shot that traveled 40 yards and because of the flip King put on the ball, made it hard to field. The return and muffed it and the Raiders recovered at the Jacksonville 18-yard-line.
He averaged over 50 yards NET. Not just overall average. When you consider the best net punting average last season was 43.7, you can see just how fantastic that is.
King may have earned the award on his punts alone, but what really put him as the only real choice was what he did late in the game when he couldn’t get a punt away. The snap was low and he fielded it, but was unable to get the punt away, so he tucked it and ran. It was fourth and 24 and he picked up 27 yards to give the Raiders the first down. It was the longest run by a punter in six years.
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