Week two of the NFL season is done and dusted, and there was a mixed bag of performances by the Australians across the league.
A Ravens offensive linesman and a 49ers punter made costly blunders, while a Bears punter is receiving a lot of attention as a high-profile teammate’s welcome message came back to haunt him, a Seahawks punter played a crucial hand in their thrilling overtime win and a Saints punter has become a fan favourite for his comfortable start to life in the NFL.
Meanwhile, an Eagles offensive linesman was in the thick of a crucial play despite his side going down in a Monday night nail-biter.
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Daniel Faalele (Baltimore Ravens – Offensive Linesman)
Faalele was the talk of the Australians for all the wrong reasons as he had a moment he would like to forget late in the Raven’s three-point home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
With scores level and less than four minutes remaining in the contest, Faalele was beaten to the inside by Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby for a sack and a loss of nine yards on the down which proved to be costly.
The 24-year-old entered his third season with added responsibility following the departure of Raiders veteran Morgan Moses and after back-to-back losses to start the season the pressure on him is mounting.
The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston was scathing of Faalele in his post-match review outlining his lack of surprise that the former fourth-round draft pick was bested in a pivotal moment.
“Guards Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele struggled in pass protection, but that’s nothing new,” Preston said.
“Both improved from their season opener in Kansas City, but those two will be a problem all season.”
Faalele also drew the wrath of Ravens fans on social media with many calling for him to be benched in favour of the more experienced Ben Cleveland.
Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh would not rule out making a change when asked post-game but insisted they will persevere with Faalele’s development.
“I’m just going to look to keep coaching the guys and keep getting better with the guys,” Harbaugh said.
“I’ll look at the tape and we’ll see. We’re always going to play the best players, that’s always a part of it, if that is what your question is. We’ll always do that.”
Jordan Mailata (Philadelphia Eagles – Offensive Linesman)
Mailata, who is one of the Eagles’ seven captains, played a crucial role despite the Eagles going down to the Falcons 22-21 in a Monday night thriller.
The 27-year-old Australian was in the thick of things on offence as Philadelphia brought back to ‘tush push’ on several occasions – where he is one of several Eagles who use their size and strength to surge the ball forward a short distance.
They even scored a touchdown in the final quarter from the play as Mailata proved to be too powerful for his opponents.
His growing stature within the team that lost last season’s Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs was also exhibited by cameras capturing him passionately addressing the offensive and defensive linesman early in the game.
But it was not to be for Mailata’s Eagles as Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins shook off the prime-time Cousins jokes which plagued him in Minnesota to get Atlanta over the line with a game-winning touchdown pass with 34 seconds remaining.
Tory Taylor (Chicago Bears – Punter)
Taylor was a shining light for Chicago in their prime time 19-13 loss away to the Houston Texans with six punts at an average of 47.3 yards with two punts inside the 20-yard line.
The 27-year-old rookie was unphased by the big stage as he stepped into the spotlight on more occasions than Bears fans would have liked due to their offensive struggles in their first loss of the season.
On social media, fans were quick to recall a text message Bears quarterback and number one pick in this year’s draft Caleb Williams sent Taylor after being selected in the fourth round on draft night.
“Hey, you’re not going to punt too much this year,” Williams said.
Taylor has punted 12 times in his first two NFL games – only Riley Dixon of the Denver Broncos has punted more times this season – and the Iowa alumnus has taken those opportunities to show why he took home the Ray Guy Award last season as the nation’s best college punter.
His powerful kick made him so highly touted, and he has slotted in seamlessly to the top level, but his involvement week-by-week is going to be a focal point courtesy of Williams’ cheeky remark.
Matthew Hayball (New Orleans Saints – Punter)
Hayball enjoyed a quiet game as he only punted once for the game which did not come until there was nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter because the Saints offence was so potent in their 44-19 away win against the Dallas Cowboys.
The 27-year-old who was previously AFL-listed with the Geelong Cats gained 49 yards with his sole punt that finished inside the 20-yard line.
It was the second straight game that Hayball has had minimal work to do as the Saints’ offence have started the season breathing fire with consecutive victories.
He only punted twice in his NFL debut against the Broncos last week and his lack of involvement has made him a social media darling for fans.
The New Orleans Times’ Luke Johnson posted on X “Saints rookie punter Matthew Hayball is probably sitting on the sidelines like ‘I’m getting paid $800k for this job lol’”, while Johnson’s colleague Matthew Paras dubbed Hayball “The Closer” on X because he has not been required until the final quarter in both of his appearances to date.
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Michael Dickson (Seattle Seahawks – Punter)
Dickson played a crucial role in the Seahawks’ thrilling overtime 23-20 victory against the New England Patriots as he held the ball in place for teammate Jason Myers to nail the winning field goal.
The 28-year-old was impressive for a second straight week to start the season as he punted five times with an average of 53.8 yards to help the Seahawks extend their unbeaten start to the season.
The Sydneysider who has been in Seattle since 2018 was credited for the Seahawks’ four-point half time lead by Seattle Seahawks senior reporter John Boyle with a brilliant punt to put the Patriots under pressure late in the first half.
“And special teams play provided a couple of key moments that weren’t as obvious, including rookie Dee Williams sure-handed fair catch in overtime with a teammate being blocked into him, as well as Michael Dickson’s punt late in the first half to pin New England inside the 10-yard line, leading to the Seahawks getting the ball back with good field position to get a field goal to end the half,” Boyle said.
Mitch Wishnowsky (San Francisco 49ers – Punter)
Wishnowsky was slammed for his lack of follow up when his first quarter punt was blocked and returned for 37 yards during San Francisco’s 23-17 loss away to the Minnesota Vikings.
Vikings safety Theo Jackson swept on the loose ball – which was blocked by fullback C. J. Ham – to put Minnesota on the 49ers 24-yard line and Wishnowsky copped firm feedback on social media for not shutting down the play sooner as the Vikings scored a field goal as a result.
49ers media personality Nick Newman expressed his frustration with the West Australian on X.
“Playing in Minnesota is cursed. Does Mitch Wishnowsky not know how to down a player when he’s laying with the ball on the ground?” Newman asked.
ESPN NFL reporter Nick Wagoner was similarly critical on X.
“Mitch Wishnowsky was too slow to react after the blocked punt. Had ample opportunity to touch Viking down on the recovery keep the ball near midfield,” Wagoner said.
“Disaster all the way around for special teams there.”
Apart from that mistake, the 32-year-old’s statistics for the game read okay with two punts for an average of 49.5 yards which were both inside the 20-yard line.
Cam Johnston (Pittsburgh Steelers – Punter)
Johnston unfortunately sustained a season-ending knee injury in the Steelers opening game victory against the Atlanta Falcons.
The 32-year-old suffered the injury when his leg was struck in an ugly collision during a punt late in the fourth quarter of his Steelers debut.
Johnston was touted as one of the best signings of the off-season as he inked a three-year deal worth $13.46 million contract in March to be the Steelers first choice punter.
Life in black and gold started promisingly as well with the former AFL-listed player – who led the NFL for punting yards while playing for the Houston Texans in 2021 – averaging 51.5 yards for his two punts prior to being dealt the cruel blow.
Source Agencies
