Travis Benjamin Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Travis Benjamin was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his work as a punt returner against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. This was Benjamin’s first player of the week nod as a Charger, but it was the fourth of his career.

Benjamin notched 88 punt return yards on the day, but it was his 65-yard touchdown return in the 1st quarter (and to a lesser degree his 20-yarder in that same quarter) that made him the player of the week.

Some have been critical of Benjamin’s punt returns as a Charger and fairly so, but on Sunday he was was exceptional. He flashed excellent vision to go with his absurd speed and all but won the game for the Chargers on his own (when you couple his special teams work with the offensive touchdown he added later).

His punt return touchdown was the first in a very long time for the Chargers. You have to go back to 2012 when Micheal Spurlock (yes, that’s how he spells his name) for the last punt taken to the house by a player wearing lightning bolts. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another five years to see the next Chargers punt return touchdown.