Rams’ ridiculous TD-to-punt ratio has LA on record-setting pace...

Rams' ridiculous TD-to-punt ratio has L.A. on record-setting pace

Cameron DaSilva

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Johnny Hekker is one of the best punters in the NFL as a four-time first-team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler. His best years have come since 2015, though his usage plummeted last season with Sean McVay leading the offense.

He only booted it 65 times in 2017 after attempting a combined 194 punts the previous two years combined. Crazy, right? Well, as infrequently as he was called upon last season, he’s been used even less this year – a lot less.


Through five weeks, he only has eight punts under his belt. That’s by far the fewest in the NFL with the Saints being the next-closest at 13. Hekker’s minuscule numbers put him on pace for just 25.6 punts and 1,206.4 yards this season, both of which are fewer than six teams already have in 2018.

Furthermore, the Rams have scored 21 touchdowns, giving them a touchdown-to-punt ratio of 2.6. That’s a huge number when provided context, given the fact that no team has ever even had a ratio above 2.0.

Since 1970, the team with the highest touchdown-to-punt ratio was the undefeated Patriots squad in 2007 that scored 75 touchdowns and punted only 45 times – a ratio of 1.67. That means the Rams are currently on track to score one more touchdown per punt than the Patriots did in 2007.

And if you’re wondering what the fewest punts in a single season are, the Rams are on pace to shatter it. Excluding the strike-shortened 1982 season where teams only played nine games, the fewest punt in a 16-game campaign came in 1990 when the Oilers punted just 34 times. They’re the only team to punt fewer than 40 times in a season.

As of now, the Rams are on pace to punt only 25.6 times which would be the second-fewest ever in the NFL, more than only the 1982 Chargers team that punted 23 times in nine games. That’s absolutely mind-blowing.