Miles
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- Mar 18, 2019
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Sanders was atop the depth chart for punt returner after that, but Norwood took much of the return reps and returned three in the AFC Championship. With Sanders' large role on offense as a starter at receiver, Norwood received more opportunities to return punts in the conference championship and Super Bowl.
"Punt return duties are always something that's … I don't want to say it's tough, but it's not easy, especially if you're getting snaps on offense, too," Norwood says. "It's not easy mentally to see the defense on third down, know that offensively you've got a big drive coming up, and you're like, Oh, yeah, wait — I've got to go do this punt return in between the defense getting off the field and the offense coming on the field.
"It definitely took some physical reps but also the mental part of it, kind of locking in and knowing that I'm going to be taking on those duties, along with Emmanuel. I think Emmanuel went into the Super Bowl as kind of the number one on the depth chart, punt return-wise. But yeah it's just one of those things where you've got to be there mentally. And it definitely took some extra reps."
That brings us to the second point that was necessary to create Norwood's historic punt return: Sanders opting not to take it.
Denver's defense had just halted Carolina on what could have been a crucial drive. Carolina got the ball near midfield, and with just one first down, the Panthers could have tied the game. Instead, the Broncos pushed them back and broke up a pass on third down to force a punt.
Even without a score, though, Carolina was in position to pin Denver deep in their own territory. Before the change of possession, Sanders approached Norwood on the sideline.
"[He] kind of turned to me and was like, Hey, do you want to get this one? And I was like, Yeah, of course, man," Norwood says.