NFL's kickoff rule change leads to highest return rate since 2010

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A small tweak to the kickoff rule led to a big increase in kickoff returns in the first week of the 2025 season.

Teams returned 75.6% of kickoffs in Week 1 for the highest rate in any week since the 2010 season, the last time the kickoff spot was at the 30-yard line.

The league moved kickoffs to the 35 the following season and the return rate dropped from 80% in 2010 to 53.4% in 2011 as kickers could easily reach the end zone for touchbacks.

The return rate kept dropping and reached a record-low 21.8% in 2023, leading to the decision to adopt the so-called dynamic kickoff last season.

The first year of the experiment led to a modest uptick in returns, with the rate rising to 32.8% last season, while reducing the rate of injuries on the play.

The rule made kickoffs more like scrimmage plays by placing the coverage players and blockers close together to eliminate the high-speed collisions that had contributed to so many injuries on the play. The league said the rate of concussions dropped 43% on returns, with a significant reduction as well in lower-body injuries.

By moving the touchback to the 35 this season, the league projected that the return rate will rise to somewhere between 60% and 70%, with a similar increase in long returns, adding more excitement to the game.

It exceeded those goals in Week 1 with more than three-quarters of all kickoffs getting returned.

The average drive start after a kickoff return was the 29.5 yard line in Week 1 compared to the 29 for all of last season, according to Sportradar. The bigger gap in starting position following the average of return compared to a touchback is leading to teams kicking the ball short of the end zone more often.

Seven of the returns went for at least 40 yards, including a 71-yarder by Tennessee’s Chimere Dike that set up a field goal at the end of the first half for the Titans against Denver. There haven't been more returns for at least 40 yards in a single week since there were nine in Week 13 of the 2015 season.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl