The NFL's Longest Special Teams And Defensive Touchdown Droughts
When general managers assemble NFL rosters, they emphasize building an offense that can score points regularly.
But the teams that regularly appear in the Super Bowl are well-balanced in all three areas of the game: offense, defense, and special teams.
The defense's job is to stop the opponents from scoring, while special teams units are there to add extra points and field goals when the offense fails to score touchdowns.
However, a team with defense and special teams units that can provide touchdowns is very difficult to beat. Betting on defensive and special teams touchdowns are proving more and more popular on the leading NFL betting sites.
If teams can chip in with their fair share of pick 6s, fumble, kickoff, and punt returns for touchdowns, then they take the pressure off the offense from scoring, and they have a better chance of making the postseason and, who knows, maybe even winning a Super Bowl.
At Gambling.com, we have analyzed all 32 teams to find out which team has gone the longest without a pick 6, kickoff return, and punt return for a touchdown.
Cleveland's Kickoff Return Magic Has Gone
When you think of former NFL players who were most dangerous at returning kicks, Josh Cribbs is right up there.
Cribbs is 14th on the NFL's all-time list of non-offensive touchdowns, and all 11 of his kickoff and punt returns for scores came during his time with the Cleveland Browns.
In 2009, Cribbs returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. Interestingly, the Browns have not had one since.
Since Cribbs returned two kickoffs 100 and 103 yards for touchdowns in a 41-34 win at the Kansas City Chiefs on 20 December 2009, Cleveland has gone 232 games, including playoffs, without a kickoff return for a touchdown, the longest drought in the NFL.
Today's game is much different from the one Cribbs played in when he effortlessly weaved through the opposition's punt and kickoff coverage.
- Browns' Last Kickoff Return For A TD: Josh Cribbs
- Date: December 20, 2009
- Opponent: Kansas City Chiefs (41-34)
- Games: 232
In today's NFL, players sent out to return kickoffs can call a fair catch, so the drive will start on the 25-yard line.
Unless teams have a player of Cribbs' ability at returning kicks, head coaches are likelier to tell their players to let the ball sail into the end zone for a touchback, where the ensuing drive will also start on the 25-yard line.
Therefore, we are seeing fewer returns from kickoffs, which explains why Browns fans have had to wait so long for one.
The Buck For The Bucs Stops With Their Special Teams
No disrespect to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but their record of scoring special teams touchdowns is terrible. It's either bad coaching or bad luck.
The last time the Buccaneers returned a kickoff for a touchdown was 227 games ago on 7 November 2010, when Michael Spurlock took a fourth-quarter kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown in Tampa Bay's 27-21 loss at the Atlanta Falcons.
| Return TD | Player | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Last Kickoff Return for TD | Michael Spurlock (Dec. 27, 2009) vs. Saints (20-17) | 236 |
| Last Punt Return for TD | Michael Spurlock (Nov. 7, 2010) vs. Falcons (21-27) | 227 |
If that wasn't bad enough, their wait for a punt return for a touchdown is even longer. Anyone who attended Tampa Bay's 20-17 win in New Orleans on 27 December 2009 witnessed the last punt return for a touchdown by the Bucs. Again, Spurlock was the player to do it, taking Thomas Morstead's punt 77 yards to the end zone.
Sooner or later, the Buccaneers will find the end zone on a punt return and end their 236-game drought, including the playoffs.
Pick 6s And Fumble Returns Aren't That Common For Some
The most common form of defensive touchdowns scored are interception returns, or pick 6s. So far this season, the NFL is averaging around 2.5 pick 6s per week, and we can expect to see that trend continue between now and the end of the regular season. Of the 32 teams, 30 have returned an interception for a touchdown at least once in the last two seasons.
However, you have to go back to the 2021 season for the last pick 6 registered by the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings.
| Team & Player | Opponent | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Broncos: Patrick Surtain II (Nov. 28, 2021) | LA Chargers (28-13) | 40 |
| Vikings: Patrick Peterson (Jan. 9, 2022) | Chicago Bears (31-17) | 36 |
The Broncos are on the league's longest pick-6 droughts with their last one coming 40 games ago in their 28-13 Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers when rookie Patrick Surtain II picked off Justin Herbert for a 70-yard score.
The Vikings' last pick 6 came in their final game of the 2021 regular season in a 31-17 win over the Chicago Bears in Minneapolis.
The game was still in the balance in the final five minutes of the game, with the Vikings leading 24-17. Quarterback Andy Dalton was hoping to drive the Bears downfield to force overtime, or to win it with a two-point conversion.
However, Patrick Peterson had other ideas, and his 66-yard pick-6 gave Minnesota a 14-point lead they never surrendered. It's 36 games and counting since the Vikings' last interception return for a touchdown.
Neither the Broncos nor the Vikings made the playoffs this season, so their quest to end these droughts will have to wait until next season.
