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Being a punter is a pretty thankless job compared to other football positions, as you’re rarely praised for doing what you’re expected to do and usually only end up at the center of attention when you manage to screw up. With that said, a rookie for the New York Jets may always have a place in NFL history thanks to a record-setting boot that still hasn’t been topped.
Pat McAfee has done what he can to get football fans to appreciate what guys who play his former position are able to pull off, and while I think more and more people have come to respect the skills it takes to routinely win the field position battle, a coffin corner punt is really never going to generate the same kind of excitement as a big hit, interception, or touchdown.
There are certain exceptions, like the time Seahawks punter Michael Dickinson pulled an incredible move after having a punt blocked by scooping the ball back up off the turf and channeling his inner rugby player before kicking it a second time to catch the Rams off-guard and pin them at their own 10-yard line.
That punt traveled a grand total of 68 yards, and while it was an impressive achievement, it didn’t even come close to surpassing a mark that may never be topped.
Jets rookie Steve O’Neal set an NFL record with a gorgeous 98-yard part against the Broncos in 1969
On September 21, 1969, the New York Jets headed out to Denver to face off against the Broncos at Mile High Stadium for what was at the time a matchup between two teams who belonged to the AFL (the league that officially merged with the NFL the following season after striking a deal a few years prior).
Over the summer, the Jets had drafted Texas A&M product Steve O’Neal with the 338th overall pick in the draft in the hopes they’d be able to take advantage of the leg he’d shown off during his time with the Aggies. While he’d only go on to play 70 games over the course of a career that lasted just five seasons, he still made a mark thanks to what transpired during the aforementioned contest.
That showdown marked the rookie’s second game as a pro, and he was kept very busy, as he was sent out on the field to punt on five different occasions (including one kick where he tried—and failed—to tackle Denver’s Floyd Little on a 52-yard return where the Broncos halfback came up a yard short of the goal line).
However, he fared a bit better when he was tasked with booting the ball from the back of his own end zone in the second quarter.
The Jets found themselves pinned against their own goal line after Joe Namath was sacked, and O’Neal’s primary goal was to make sure he could punt the ball out of the end zone without getting blocked thanks to the potentially dicey situation he found himself facing after trotting out onto the gridiron.
The Broncos had sent both Little and DB Bill Thompson down the field to attempt to receive the punt, but O’Neal took advantage of the thin air in Denver and the wind at his back for a booming kick that sailed over the head of both players and sent the latter scrambling after the football after it took a New York bounce and continued to head down the field.
The ball ultimately came to rest around a foot away from the goal line, and while Thompson was able to scoop it up, his efforts to advance it were stymied by the Jets defenders who quickly tracked him down and tackled him at the one-yard line for a record-setting 98-yard punt.
In 1991, Patriots punter Shawn McCarthy came closer than anyone else to matching that achievement with a 93-yard boot against the Bills, but O’Neal (who pivoted to dentistry after hanging up his cleats) has a hard time believing there’s any scenario that would see him supplanted from the record books.
It’s kind of hard to argue with him.