In his eighth year out of the University of Hawaii, Rigoberto Sanchez has continued to claim stake as one of the league’s best punters.
His most recent accomplishment came after the week six victory over the Tennesee Titans where Sanchez racked up five punts for 271 yards with three landing inside the 20. Earning himself the Week 6 AFC Special Teams Player of The Week for his impressive performance.
While the stat line may have won him the award in and of itself, this game-sealing punt perfectly downed inside the five-yard line may have been one that clinched him the award:
Rigoberto Sanchez just kicked one of the most immaculate punts you’ll ever see.#INDvsTEN pic.twitter.com/oNcOwN98yi
— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
Through six games this season, Sanchez leads the league in punts inside the 20 with 17, is fifth in net yards per punt with 44.0, and is by far the league leader in percentage of punts inside the 20 with a whopping 70.8% success rate.
With such impressive ranks through six weeks, do not be surprised if Sanchez winds up on the Pro Bowl roster, or more deservingly ends up on the All-Pro team.
Fans React to Rigoberto Sanchez
Since 2009 when Pat McAfee first stepped foot into Indianapolis, fans have come to fall in love with the fourth down army. Although McAfee is no longer playing for the Colts, Indianapolis struck gold once again with the 30-year-old Sanchez.
The way he just stuck it perfectly is wild.
When that ball landed you would’ve thought it was a concrete block or something the way it just stuck its landing lol crazy good punt as has all his punts this season.
He’s definitely saved us quite a few times now.— Tyler Burton (@Str8_Thanggg11) October 14, 2024
This season, in particular, the former undrafted free-agent acquisition has been playing at his highest level yet. On top of leading the league in several of these categories, Sanchez has registered career-highs in yards per punt with 50.4, net yards per punt with 44.0, and punt percentage inside the 20 with 70.8%.
Sanchez is no stranger to the league-wide praise. In 2021, Rigo was named AFC Special Teams Player of The Week twice in week four and week seven as well as being named to the 2017 NFL All-Rookie team.
The Secret to Sucess
While it is usually a sign of failure when the punter trots onto the field, for the Colts it has been the opposite.
In games where Sanchez punts at least four times, the Colts are 3-1. When Rigo fails to reach that number, they are 0-2. Additionally, when Sanchez gets to five punts, the Colts boast a 2-0 record.
Admittedly, the stat is rather coincidental to the actual punting and more so correlating to head coach Shane Steichen taking more passive approaches these last four weeks. During which the Colts were primarily without starters Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor, the offense stalled out more frequently but it led to more opportunities for the opposing teams to have to drive the length of the field.
However, with every game during the season being a one-score game for the Colts, it makes sense for the advantage to come down to them being able to pin opponents deep in their territory. As long as Sanchez continues to play at the level he is at currently, Colts fans should have no worries when they see number eight jogging onto the field.
In a season where the defense has had its struggles, the offense has been inconsistent and nobody knows if the Colts are good or bad, Sanchez has continually been a steady bright spot amid a 3-3 start.
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