JL Skinner’s facemask made embattled special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi look good — and got the Broncos an ugly win in the process.
Skinner burst through the line late in the third quarter and blocked AJ Cole’s punt with his helmet, teeing up the Broncos for what ended up being the game-winning field goal in a 10-7 rock-fight victory over the Raiders on Thursday at Empower Field.
It was perhaps the biggest play of the third-year pro’s career, and came in a game where Rizzi moved Skinner from the outside of the line to the inside in order to better capitalize on the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder’s length and physicality.
“That’s something I’ve been working on all week at practice — taking advantage of that tackle and trying to get off the ball fast,” Skinner said. “I was ready for the moment. I was thinking about that play all day.”
With 1:36 left in the third quarter and the Raiders facing fourth-and-16 on their own 14-yard line in a tie game, Skinner lined up inside of Devon Key on the right side of the line. Skinner dipped his shoulder and used a drive-and-crank technique to force his way into the backfield and then split two of the Raiders’ gunners, who were tied up with other blocks, to get to Cole.
Skinner missed the ball with his outstretched right arm as it came off Cole’s foot, but was close enough that the ball clanged off Skinner’s facemask and visor instead. It was then recovered by Tyler Badie, who ran the ball back to the 11-yard line to set up Will Lutz’s 32-yard field goal four plays later.
“I didn’t know where the ball was at (initially),” Skinner said. “I thought I missed it, and I was just hoping it hit something. … (After realizing it was blocked), I thought it hit my hand at first, then I saw my visor, and it had a mark from the ball on it. That’s when I knew.
“It was a heads-up play — or, I’ll say, a head-butt play.”
On a night when the Broncos offense sputtered and Rizzi’s special teams had several face-palm moments, Skinner’s block was the Broncos’ bailout, and the differentiator that underscored a dominating performance on defense.
Rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw had a rough night with two shanked punts of 30 and 36 yards and a squib kick that made it look like Crawshaw had a case of the yips. The erratic punting was the latest chapter in the Broncos’ ongoing special teams saga that came to a head over the last two weeks in wins over Dallas and Houston.
Rizzi’s unit had an array of errors in both games, including a communication mishap that preceded a concussion for All-Pro returner Marvin Mims Jr. against the Cowboys, as well as multiple players running out late on special teams against the Texans.
But following Skinner’s momentum-changing block on Thursday, and another game-winning field goal from kicker Will Lutz, defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers said that the Broncos are choosing to see the unit’s performance through a glass-half-full lens.
For Skinner, a primary special teamer who has appeared in 26 NFL games with no starts and only a handful of plays at safety, he hopes Thursday’s highlight is a trampoline for him the rest of the season.
“Special teams is one of those things that nobody wants to talk about until it’s something bad,” Franklin-Myers said. “But tonight, JL showed he’s a consistent player who plays with a physicality that people don’t want to match. … He’s one of the engines that makes the special teams go.”
Linebacker Jonathon Cooper and defensive lineman Zach Allen, who helped Franklin-Meyers in contributing to the Broncos’ six sacks against the Raiders, agreed — even as Cooper acknowledged the unit has areas to clean up.
“(Special teams) made a big play in a big-time moment,” Allen said, “and that’s all we can ask for.”
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