Jets RB-KR Kene Nwangwu has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Cleveland Browns in Week 10.
Following a Cleveland touchdown in the first quarter, Nwangwu returned a kickoff 99 yards to the end zone, evening the score, 7-7.
"Throughout my career, it's usually been like the 40-yard line. You cross the 40, you kind of have an idea if you're going to score or not," Nwangwu recalled of the play. "Across the 40, [I] wasn't touched. I just got to outrun the kicker and then any safeties on the sideline."
It was Nwangwu's fifth kick return TD of his career, the most by any player since he entered the league in 2021. It was his second kick return TD as a Jet, the first being a 99 yarder in Week 13 of the 2024 season that earned him his first AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. While playing for Minnesota, Nwangwu earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors twice -- once in '21 and again in '22.
Nwangwu, who has missed 5 games this season due to injury, has taken full advantage of his time on the field. He recorded 3 kick returns for 143 yards in the Week 10 victory, bringing his season total to 8 returns for 318 yards.
"That's the power of believing in your players," HC Aaron Glenn said. "… Just trust those guys and build those guys up and keep developing those guys, and that's what we're trying to do."
Nwangwu added: "It's an exciting feeling when you can just make plays for your team. I think that's just the mentality for any of us back there when the ball is in our hands. We are just trying to make plays for our team hoping that our play can help us win games."
Nwangwu's play, and Isaiah Williams' 74-yard punt return TD on the ensuing possession, did prove to be game-changing plays. The collective effort marked the first time in franchise history that the team scored both a kick return TD and punt return TD in the same game, and it was the first time any team has done it since 2017.
"Our special teams really gave us a spark today, and that's what we need," Glenn said following last Sunday's game.
The NFL weekly award is the second by a Jet this season and the 15th since 2021. It is the eighth by a Jets special teamer since '21. Williams was the most recent winner after returning 5 kickoffs for 132 yards and 3 punts for 38 yards in Week 8 against Cincinnati.
