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The NFL Should Bring Back the Pro Bowl, for Braden Mann
By Matt Schultz
Published:
The Eagles beat the Commanders 24-22 on Sunday evening, and I’m not sure it would’ve happened without punter Braden Mann. He was so damn good. To recap quickly:
Mann punted 7 times for 361 gross yards (51.6 gross average) and 308 net yards (44.0 net average). His long for the night was 64 yards, and he pinned five punts inside the 20-yard line (at Washington’s 2, 6, 7, 8, and 11-yard lines) (!!!) with zero touchbacks and no blocks. Insane.
The stat line is impressive enough, but it looked even better to the eye test/knowing the game situations when the punts happened. This guy dominated just about as much as a punter can dominate. It’s worth a closer look, in my opinion.
A closer-look breakdown of Braden Mann’s game
- In the first quarter, trailing 3-0 on 4th and 8, Mann pinned Washington at their own 6-yard line with a 46-yard kick out of bounds to flip the field.
- Later in the quarter, on 4th and 21 from the Philadelphia 28, he uncorked a game-long 64-yard bomb to limit Washington to a drive start at the 22-yard line.
- Early in the second quarter, Birds up 7-3, Mann booted a 62-yard punt that pushed Washington back to their own 16-yard line.
- With only 45 seconds remaining before halftime and the Eagles ahead 14-9, he executed a pinpoint 51-yard coffin kick that was downed at the 2-yard line, completely neutralizing Washington’s two-minute drill. This was the high-water mark of Mann’s game. It was so sick:
- To open the second half, Mann added 44-yard and 43-yard punts to protect a five-point advantage while kicking out of Eagles territory.
- Finally, with 5:18 left in the third quarter on 4th and 16, he booted a 51-yard strike out of bounds at the Washington 11-yard line, setting up a quick defensive stop that led to an Eagles field goal on the next drive.
In conclusion, the guy is awesome. He might be the best punter in the NFL, which is a very nice thing for the Birds — especially knowing they got him on a slight discount (he’s the 5th-highest paid punter in the league at $3.5 million AAV).
It’s clear what has to happen next: the NFL must bring back the Pro Bowl specifically for Braden Mann. He deserves a trip to Hawai’i. He deserves to play in the strangest, most boring game ever played. He deserves to wear a lei. That’s the least we can do, is get Braden a lei. He’s earned a lei. Maybe I’ll buy him the lei. Gonna think on this.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com