Usually, you don’t want to be able to count your punter to be among your most valuable players on the field if you’re trying to win games. But that was the case for the Carolina Panthers with punter Sam Martin in Week 7.
Martin was a key force in helping the Panthers eke out a 13-6 win over the New York Jets last weekend, as he played a major role in controlling field position in what ended up being a low-scoring affair. Martin was called upon for six punts against the Jets, and tied for the league lead for the week by pinning four of those punts inside the Jets’ 20-yard line — including one inside the ten-yard line and another inside the five-yard line. He also booted a league-leading 68-yard punt in the contest, and averaged 46 yards per punt in the win.
Now in his 13th season in the NFL, the veteran punter has earned his fourth Special Teams Player of the Week award, including his first since joining the Panthers this season. It makes his first such award since the 2016 season — he earned all three previous awards while playing for the Detroit Lions, where he began his professional career. He is the fifth Panthers’ punter to earn the accolade and the first since 2020, joining Ken Walter, Todd Sauerbrun, Jason Baker, and Joseph Charlton.
The award also cements his place in the history of Appalachian State alumni in the NFL, as he has now surpassed former Mountaineer and NFL star Mark Royals — also a punter — for the most Player of the Week awards earned by a player from the program. Royals won three such awards during his career, which spanned 1986 to 2003.