Raiders special teams: AJ Cole shows off his leg, but overshadowed in head-to-head Week 4 matchup

Browns punter Corey Bojorquez booms in loss; kicker Daniel Carlson doesn’t miss in Las Vegas’ win

It’s not often AJ Cole III is bested in head-to-head matchups with another punter, but this past Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders big-legged boomer was overshadowed by the Cleveland Browns’ Corey Bojorquez.

The two premiere NFL punters exchanged blasts and bombs inside Allegiant Stadium with Bojorquez getting five opportunities and sending the ball into the air for 316 yards (an average of 63.2 yards per boot) with a booming punt of 84 yards. Cole, on the other hand, punted four times for 232 yards (58 yard average per kick) with a long of 67 yards.

The fans inside Allegiant were treated to a showcase in field-flipping punters this past Sunday and while Bojorquez was tops in punts, yards, and the longest boot of the afternoon, two of his opportunities were touchbacks giving the Raiders much-needed breathing room and not allowing the Browns to pin the Silver & Black near the it’s own goal line. Only one of Bojorquez’s blasts was pinned inside Las Vegas’ 20-yard line.

Cole, meanwhile, had two of his punts land inside Cleveland’s 20-yard line including a fourth-quarter directional boom that initially landed inside the five yard line before ricocheting back to the five yard line. And that resulted in this hilarious celebration by Cole:

That final stanza in last Sunday’s tilt really showcased both punter’s immense talent. Bojorquez’s 84-yard punt came on 4th-and-4 with his back to the end zone. A Cleveland drive before that, Bojorquez punted the ball 74 yards. Unfortunately for the Browns, both were touchbacks. But Fortunately for the visitors, the Raiders offense didn’t muster any drives giving Cole his chance to shine.

Cole pinned Cleveland with the punt in the video above and saved his longest boot — the 67-yard blast — for last. That final punt (along with a 13-yard return from Cleveland) forced the Browns to drive from their own 31-yard line if they hoped to get out of Las Vegas with a win. It came down to the final play — a 4th-and-3 from the Raiders’ nine-yard line — but Las Vegas defense rose to the occasion.

Point After(thought)

A single point.

That was the difference in Cleveland’s final drive. Down 20-16, the team needed to get into the end zone to get the victory in Las Vegas. And that was due to a missed extra point by kicker Dustin Hopkins after the Browns had a scoop and score on Raiders running back Zamir White’s fumble.

While Hopkins may have been bullseye on a 56-yard field goal in the first quarter, that 1-for-2 performance on the extra point attempt loomed large. Had that kick gone in, it would’ve been 20-17 and likely change the complexion and sense of urgency between both teams. Had Cleveland only trailed by three on its final drive, “settling” for the game-tying field goal would’ve been much better than a desperation fourth down play that the Las Vegas defense was determined to stop.

Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, meanwhile, was 2-for-2 from field goal range — as well as on extra point attempts. His longest boot of the afternoon was from 52 yards out and his 34-yard kick on Las Vegas opening possession in the second half closed out his field goal tries.

Where They Stand

Four games into the 2024 season, Cole is third in the league with a 52.1 yards per punt average. Only the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ryan Rehkow (58.4) and the Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Stonehouse (52.4) are in front of him.

Cole also ranks No. 8 in number of punts overall with 17, seventh in yards (886), and eighth in punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line with eight. With Las Vegas ranked 10th in put return yards allowed (87), taking that total away from Cole’s total punt yards puts the Raiders’ boot specialist second in net yards per punt (45.8). Rehkow leads the NFL with a 49.7 net yards per boot average.

Carlson, meanwhile, ranks 11th in field goal attempts with nine and 16h in field goals made with seven. He’s 25th in the league with a field goal percentage of 77.8 percent.

The Dallas Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey and Green Bay Packers’ Brayden Narveson lead the league in attempts with 13, apeice. Aubrey leads the NFL in made field goals with 12. Eight different kickers haven’t missed an attempt yet sporting 100 percent accuracy thus far.

Up Next: The Raiders (2-2 overall) travel to face the Denver Broncos (2-2) in an AFC West divisional matchup this coming Sunday. Cole has 10 career games against Denver under his belt with stat line that reads: 33 punts for 1,629 yards (49.36 per boot average) with 15 boots landing inside the Broncos’ 20-yard line along with three touchbacks. Carlson has 11 career games against Denver as he’s 23-for-26 on field goals (88.5 percent) and 27-for-28 on extra point attempts. He’s scored 96 career points against the Broncos.

Extra Points: The ascension of Isaiah Pola-Mao to starting safety along with the absence of wide receiver Davante Adams caused a shift in roles on special teams. Normal core special teamer and wide receiver DJ Turner didn’t play a single snap on special teams while Pola-Mao played only three. Linebackers Amari Gainer (22) and Luke Masterson (22) were led special team snap counts (good for 85 percent of the group’s total). Safety Chris Smith II (20), linebackers Tommy Eichenberg (19) and Amari Burney (19), safety Thomas Harper (18), running back Ameer Abdullah (16) and rounded out the high-snap special teams group.