EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Jets wasted no time having a special performance Sunday on special teams.
Kene Nwangwu returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and 36 seconds later, Isaiah Williams brought back a punt 74 yards for a score in New York's 27-20 win over Cleveland.
It marked the first time in franchise history that the Jets had a kickoff return and a punt return for TDs in the same game.
“I feel like that just really changed the game, the momentum,” Williams said. "Like, after he scored, everybody on the sideline was just pumped, and I was, too."
The Jets had one previous game with two kickoffs returned for scores and another with two punts returned for TDs. But never one of each in the same game.
And they both came in the opening quarter Sunday, giving the Jets an early 14-7 lead.
“I’m on the sideline like, ‘Yo, we don’t need to do no work!’” quarterback Justin Fields said with a big smile. “Nah, special teams definitely did their thing today. Proud of those guys, and we finally had some hit.”
After the Browns took a 7-0 lead, Nwangwu took the ensuing kickoff up the middle and evaded would-be tacklers -- including kicker Andre Szmyt's diving attempt -- and returned it up the right sideline 99 yards.
“I mean, honestly, I didn't get touched, so it's a credit to the guys,” Nwangwu told SNY after the game. “It just opened up on the back side and I just trusted my speed, trusted the blocks and it's just great to celebrate with our team and, like, give us that energy on special teams.”
New York then forced Cleveland into a three-and-out and Jets special teams coordinator Chris Banjo took Williams aside.
“Coach Banjo came up to me like, ‘Now, it’s your turn,’” Williams recalled. “So, I feel like it just gave us even more confidence, like, all right, we can go do this. Let’s go be special.”
Williams, the AFC special teams player of the week two weeks ago, fielded Corey Bojorquez's punt and returned it 74 yards, also going up the right sideline untouched for another touchdown to make it 14-7 with 5:45 left in the opening quarter.
“Man, it was a lot of emotions with that being my first return touchdown in my life,” said Williams, who was cut by the Jets earlier this season after a couple of mistakes before he was recently re-signed.
“With that, just how things have turned around these last few weeks, like it was a lot of emotions going into that,” he added. “Most of all, just being able to help the team win, being able to make plays, because going into this week we knew this was going to be a good defense.”
It has also been an up-and-down season for Nwangwu, who missed the Jets' previous game with a concussion after sitting out four games with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 1.
Nwangwu tied his career best for longest touchdown return after also having a 99-yarder for the Jets last December against Seattle. He has returned five kickoffs for TDs since entering the league as a fourth-round pick of Minnesota in 2021, the most in the NFL in that span.
“Man, it was special to see both of those guys because both of those guys have had some issues up to a certain point, with Kene with some of his injuries and Isaiah what had happened early in the season and he’s just turned himself around," coach Aaron Glenn said. “And that’s the power of believing in your players and don’t let the noise that everybody wants to talk about these guys let that bother you, and just trust those guys and build those guys up and keep developing those guys. And that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The previous time an NFL team had kickoff and punt returns for scores in the same game was Baltimore against Chicago on Oct. 15, 2017. The Chargers were the most recent team to accomplish the feat in the first quarter in 2007.
“The biggest thing on special teams, it was the challenge, like, we’ve got to be explosive in the return game,” Williams said. “And me and Kene, we took that personally.”
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