Johnny Hekker’s amazing trick punt was the best special teams play of Week 1

You don’t think about punters very much. That’s OK. We’re here to think about punters for you and spread the gospel of the NFL’s most awesome ones. This week we’re discussing Rams punter Johnny Hekker, who was pulling off some punting trickery this week against the hapless Colts.

Hekker punted five times in the Rams’ 46-9 win over the Colts. All five of his punts were downed inside the 20, one of them at the 10-yard line and two more inside of that.

But his best punt was this one, in the second quarter. It’s a 38-yard punt that goes out of bounds at the Colts’ 7-yard line. The most impressive part is how he did it.

Allow former Colts punter Pat McAfee to explain:

The ball normally runs longways aligned end zone to end zone. Hekker switches it up to put the ball sideways to get the spin it needs to roll out of bounds to the punter’s right side of the field. And it works!

McAfee’s breakdown got a nod from Hekker too:

“The banana!”

Hekker’s been a secret weapon of sorts for the Rams since joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2012. And the way those teams, under head coach Jeff Fisher, played, he got a lot of work punting.

Last year, he set an NFL record with 51 of his punts landing inside the 20. And of his 98 punts, only one went into the end zone for a touchback.

You know Hekker’s good because his punting has earned rave reviews from none other than Bill Belichick, a man who loves to talk special teams.

Here’s what Belichick said ahead of game against the Rams last season:

“I mean [Johnny] Hekker is a tremendous weapon. This guy looks like as good a player as I’ve ever seen at that position. He’s a tremendous weapon in his ability to punt the ball, punt it inside the 20, directional kick it, involved in fakes, can throw, can run, very athletic.”