Chiefs Punter Wins Award For Performance Against Raiders

The Kansas City Chiefs are winning plenty of early season awards, and part of that is because the Chiefs are now 4-0 going into their bye week. But players are winning these awards because they earn them, and that was definitely the case for punter Matt Araiza, who was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in Kansas City’s Week 1 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Araiza punted a total of five times in the game, and all of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line. His last one was the most noteworthy, as the Chiefs were able to down the kick inside the one-yard line, forcing the Raiders to go 99 yards with the Chiefs holding the lead. 

But that’s not all Araiza did. He converted a fake punt in the first quarter by running for 12 yards, and that will always get punters noticed for this kind of award. Araiza also flipped the field a couple of times in what became a field-position game in the scoreless third quarter, so his overall contributions were huge.

Araiza has been known as a good punter for a couple of years now, but it wasn’t always that way. His backstory includes a tough stretch coming out of San Diego State, where Araiza was known as the Punt God for his big leg, which virtually assured him of finding a home in the NFL. 

Until it didn’t. Araiza also got himself in trouble as part of an alleged gang rape at San Diego State during his college football career, but he insisted he was innocent. He went to court to prove it and cleared his name, but it made it tough for Araiza to establish himself in the NFL. 

He started his punting career with the Buffalo Bills, but they punted on him as part of the shuffle that every kicker and punter goes through. The Chief had him in for a tryout and liked what they saw, and now he’s considered a vital member of their special teams. 

The run from punt formation is new, however. That’s not something Araiza is known for, as he’s a decent athlete but not someone teams keep an eye on when he drops back to kick. Special teams coach Dave Toub spotted something the Raiders were doing in dropping some of their punt coverage players in a way that made them vulnerable, and Araiza did his job by executing the play.