Townsend earns AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - For the second time this season, Kansas City Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend was honored with a league-wide honor. After being named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in September, Townsend was selected as the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 15.

Townsend had a long punt of 57 yards and had two punts downed inside the 20-yard line in Kansas City’s overtime victory against the Houston Texans.

In overtime, Townsend pinned the Texans at their own 13-yard line after the Chiefs offense stalled out near midfield. Two plays -- a strip sack, fumble recovery and Jerick McKinnon rushing touchdown -- later, the Chiefs had won the AFC West for the seventh year in a row.

Townsend ranks second among qualified punters in average punt distance with 51.8 yards per punt. He also leads the NFL in net average distance at 46.5 yards.

He’s done that on a smaller sample size, ranking 30th in total attempts because of the Chiefs’ No. 1 ranked offense.

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