DENVER — Deserving as Wil Lutz was when he received his first player of the week honor, winning it a second time had to be extra special for him and the team.
Just two weeks after the blocked kick debacle that cost the Denver Broncos a win at Kansas City, Lutz was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his 5 for 5 field goal effort in a 29-19 win Sunday at Las Vegas. Two of those field goals were from 53 and 54 yards away and another was from 45 yards.
It’s the second time this season Lutz received the Special Teams POW honor. The first was for his week 3 performance at Tampa Bay when his four field goals helped the Broncos stun the Bucs, 26-7.
Given where the Broncos were on the plane ride home from Kansas City on Nov. 10, Lutz’s second such award is a testament to smart coaching adjustments and the resilience of the Broncos’ 11-man field goal unit. Lutz was lining up for a short, 35-yard field goal attempt with 1 second remaining at Arrowhead Stadium that would have given the Broncos a 17-16 upset win.
Instead, Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal rammed through “tight end” blocker Alex Forsyth and blocked Lutz’s kick before the placekicker had much chance to get the ball up. The Chiefs wildly celebrated their 16-14 triumph on the field.
In the two games since that devastating disappointment, Lutz has gone 13 of 13 – 6 of 6 in field goals and 7 of 7 in extra points. Forsyth was moved one spot over to the outside position, flip-flopping with offensive tackle Matt Peart, who is a much bigger body protecting the kick-rush lane. Lutz’s second honor comes with a hat tip to Forysth, perhaps.
For the season, Lutz has gone 24 of 27 in field goals and a perfect 26 of 26 on 33-yard extra points. The 9-year NFL kicker who spent seven seasons in New Orleans before head coach Sean Payton brought him to Denver last year has 998 career points, meaning with two extra points in the Broncos’ game Monday night against Cleveland he will reach the coveted 1,000-point milestone.
The Broncos have been recipients of five Player of the Week awards this year: Bo Nix received the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his big game against Atlanta; Pat Surtain (week 5 against the Raiders) and Cody Barton (week 7 at New Orleans) were Defensive Player of the Weeks; and now Lutz has twice been the top Special Teamer.
