The Return of the Returns (Slight Return)
Like it or not, kickoff returns are back. And they are bringing both big plays and tactical decisions back to what used to be a glorified commercial break.
Yes, NFL kickoff returns are back. And unless you are a dedicated sourpuss, you probably find them cooler than ever.
NFL teams averaged 4.0 kickoff returns per game through two weeks, up from 1.7 in 2024 and 1.1 in 2023, when the league began futzing with the rules to make kickoffs safely returnable while disincentivizing touchbacks.
Here are the numbers, in handy table form. I added the year 2000 to represent the “Good Ol’ Days.”
2025: 4.0 kickoff returns per game, 25.2 yards per return
2024: 1.7 kickoff returns per game, 27.6 yards per return
2023: 1.1 kickoff returns per game, 23.0 yards per return
2022: 1.9 kickoff returns per game, 22.8 yards per return
2021: 2.0 kickoff returns per game, 22.2 yards per return
2000: 4.1 kickoff returns per game, 21.9 yards per return
As you can see, kickoffs are as likely to be returned as they were in some reasonable definition of yesteryear. Through two weeks, the returns themselves are also likely to be longer, and therefore probably more fun to watch, than they they have been for at least a decade.
We will delve deeper – Too Deep, one might say – into kickoff stats in a moment. But you may be wondering what impact the new kickoff rules have had on starting field position. After all, it’s a big deal that a touchback gives the opponent the ball on the 35-yard line instead of the 30, while failure to reach the “landing zone” basically auto-sets up a Brandon Aubrey field goal attempt.
Here are some starting field position figures for sickos who relish them as much as I do: