New York Giants punt returner Gunner Olszewski was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday, the team announced.
The 27-year-old gained the honor on the back of a single play: a 94-yard punt return during New York’s 26-25 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Week 17 action.
Down seven with under three minutes left in the game, Olszewski fielded an Ethan Evans punt at the 6-yard line and broke a pair of tackles before sprinting up the right sideline to bring the Giants within one. New York failed its two-point attempt, though, before Mason Crosby missed a game-winning 54-yard field-goal attempt.
GUNNER OLSZEWSKI BREAKS TACKLES FOR A 94-YARD PUNT RETURN TD!
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📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/sFjqko01pD pic.twitter.com/NYpGnFWPLq— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2023
Regardless of the outcome, Olszewski’s return was the longest in the NFL since 2021 when Jakeem Grant of the Chicago Bears took one back 97 yards in a December 12 game against the Green Bay Packers. It was also the second-longest punt return in Giants franchise history, falling just one shy of the team record set by Al Youngblood on Sept. 30, 1928, against the Pottsville Maroons.
It had been more than eight years since the Giants last recorded a touchdown via a punt return. Dwayne Harris was the last to do so on Dec. 6, 2015, against the New York Jets (80 yards). Such a brand of scoring touchdowns has come few and far between as of late for the Giants. Since 2000, they’ve only recorded four punt-return touchdowns, which ranks dead-last in the NFL during that stretch.
For Olszewski, Sunday’s big play was the second of his career — the first coming during the 2020 season on a 70-yard return for the New England Patriots against the Los Angeles Chargers. It was the highlight of a game that featured three punt returns for 145 yards, which earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
During that 2020 season, his 17.3-yard punt return average led the NFL and set a Patriots franchise record, garnering first-team All-Pro honors.
Across nine games this season after being signed from the practice squad, Olszewski has averaged 12.2 yards per punt return. He currently ranks fifth in the NFL with a 12-yard average (he returned one earlier this season with the Pittsburgh Steelers).
Olszewski is the second Giants player this season to win a Player of the Week award. Quarterback Tommy DeVito won NFC Offensive Player of the Week after leading a game-winning drive for a 24-22 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Week 14.
