David Wilson named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week
David Wilson celebrates his touchdown on a kickoff return against the New Orleans Saints. (Dec. 9, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Jack Hagerty was the first Giants player to return a kickoff for a touchdown, bringing one back against the Buffalo Bisons on Nov. 5, 1929. He was not, I am fairly certain, named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for that accomplishment. Nor do records indicate that he celebrated with a back flip in the end zone.
David Wilson was the most recent Giants player to return a kickoff for a touchdown with a dazzling 97-yarder against the Saints on Sunday. He flipped. And today he bested Hagerty again when he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
In between the Giants have had just 18 other regular-season kickoffs returned for a touchdown. Wilson’s return was the first for a score since Domenik Hixon did it against the Patriots in the 2007 regular-season finale with a 74-yarder. Wilson snapped a streak of 76 consecutive regular-season games without a kickoff returned for a touchdown. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that was the second-longest drought in the NFL, behind St. Louis (119 games) and Jacksonville (84).
The last Giants return man to be named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week was Dave Meggett, who did it in the opening week of the 1994 season.
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