Impossible Punt Save: The art of special teams in the NFL

Special teams plays rarely get the prime-time highlights, but an impossible punt save is pure art. When a punter boomerangs a kick inside the 5-yard line, the coverage team has a fraction of a second to leap airborne, scoop or swat a spinning football inches off the grass, and flip it backward before landing in the endzone for a touchback. It requires unbelievable body control, spatial awareness, and complete disregard for the turf. One of the greatest displays of special teams mastery came when Matthew Slater and Nate Ebner of the New England Patriots teamed up for a legendary goal-line save against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As the ball bounced toward the goal line, Slater leaped horizontally through the air to swat the ball backward right into the hands of Ebner, downing it at the 1-yard line. It’s a game of millimeters where one toe touching the white chalk changes everything. Is the punt team save the most underrated play in all of sports?