History awaits: Will the Super Bowl finally see a punt return touchdown?

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The first touchdown in Super Bowl history came on a pass from Bart Starr to Max McGee 59 years ago for the Green Bay Packers. The most recent came on a 50-yard deep strike from Patrick Mahomes to Xavier Worthy last year.

In between those, there have been 323 additional touchdowns scored in Super Bowl history coming on runs, passes, interception returns, kick returns, fumble returns and blocked punts.

Surprisingly, no one has ever returned a punt for a score in the NFL's biggest game in a drought that just might come to an end this year in a game featuring two of the league's most dynamic returners.

“I just got educated about that,” New England’s Marcus Jones said this week. “Being able to be the first one in history to do that would mean a lot.”

Jones has three career punt return touchdowns, including two this season. His counterpart in Seattle, Rashid Shaheed, also has three in his career, including one this season.

Shaheed said he was asked this week to guess how many there had been in a Super Bowl and figured at least two, before finding out the actual answer.

"That’s crazy,” he said before echoing Jones in that it would mean a lot to be the first.

After 259 punt returns ended short of the end zone in Super Bowl history, could this be the year someone breaks through?

It nearly happened three years ago when Kansas City's Kadarius Toney had a 65-yard return that set up a 5-yard TD drive in the fourth quarter in one of the key moments in the Chiefs' win over Philadelphia.

Shaheed and Jones will try to do a little better this year.

“It would be obviously, history,” Shaheed said. "It would mean a lot to the team, being able to create a game-changing play like that. It would be amazing.”

It would be fitting if a big special teams play had a major impact on the Super Bowl after a season that seemed to produce more game-altering plays in the often overlooked third phase of the game.

The 2025 season was the year of special teams with a record number of long field goals, a staggering number of blocked kicks, big returns and costly blunders playing a big role every week.

The 44 blocked kicks were tied for the most in any season since 2017 and the 15 punt return touchdowns were the most since 2012. There were also an NFL-record 73 made field goals from at least 55 yards — including 12 from 60-plus for more than double the previous high for a season.

The kick return rate jumped to 74% from 33% last season in the second year of the so-called “dynamic” kickoff for the highest return rate in 15 years.

“I think a big part of that is because now you’re covering every kick and because of that now you’re putting more focus on kickoffs and returns and maybe not as much focus on punt returns,” Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. “Now you are getting a good mix of big punt returns, punt blocks, kickoff returns, kickoffs.

"It's been fun. You have to embrace it and find ways to beat it.”

While Drake Maye, Sam Darnold and the stellar defenses for New England and Seattle might be getting most of the headlines this week, the team that wins the kicking game Sunday might well end up hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

The Seahawks, under special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh, were the top team in the NFL this season in expected points added by special teams play, gaining nearly four points per game better than average. The Patriots finished in the middle of the pack, but have a player in Jones who is able to change a game in the blink of an eye.

“I’m not sure he has as much in terms of weaknesses and he can kind of do it all," Harbaugh said. ”He has the very best of what a lot of returners have put together. The speed, the vision, the contact balance. He fields the ball really well. He can make you miss. He’s the real deal."

The Seahawks used a punt return touchdown from Shaheed to fuel a late-season comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams that helped them win the NFC West. Shaheed then returned the opening kick of Seattle’s playoff opener for another touchdown to key a win over San Francisco in the divisional round and the Seahawks used a muffed punt by the Rams in the NFC championship game to make it to this stage.

The Seahawks also had the NFL’s best kick coverage unit with the average starting drive for opponents after kicks starting at the 28.

“He is very creative,” Springer said of Harbaugh. “He does a great job scheming teams up. He finds your weaknesses and he exploits those weaknesses and has a lot of those guys in the right places to make you look weak at the same time. You can tell they have a belief among their special teams group that they’re going to go out there and dominate and they believe that there’s one play away from doing it.”

New England wasn't quite as dominant on special teams as Seattle this season, but had three return touchdowns on kicks and punts and had a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game to preserve a three-point lead over New England.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones speaks during the NFL Super Bowl Opening Night, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. ahead of the Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Seattle Seahawks wide receivers Rashid Shaheed (22) and Montorie Foster Jr. (87) stretch during an NFL Super Bowl football practice on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in San Jose, Calif., ahead of Super Bowl 60 between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — More than 24 hours before the first shot flew at a Final Four that really feels like a five-team affair, Arizona already had a win.

The Wildcats kept their coach from bolting to that fifth team — North Carolina.

Tommy Lloyd dropped the news of the contract extension that will keep him in Tucson through 2031 at Friday's news conference in advance of a titanic matchup against Michigan.

The meandering coaching search at one of the country's most storied programs has shared headlines with Saturday night's much-anticipated national semifinal that happens to feature two of Carolina's reported coaching targets.

"We’ve been able to get some things done the past couple days," Lloyd said.

Like Lloyd, Michigan coach Dusty May has spent most of this tournament batting down speculation that he might be the replacement for Hubert Davis, who was fired after the Tar Heels blew a 19-point lead in a loss to VCU in the first round of the tournament last month.

Not surprisingly, May was asked about it again the day before the big game.

“Yeah, I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go and then I’ll comment on every job,” he said.

It's no big surprise that these two coaches are among the hottest commodities in hoops. Just look at the teams they brought to Indy.

There are no fewer than nine potential NBA stars sprinkled across the two rosters, which is why the winner of this, the second of Saturday night's semifinals, will almost certainly be a favorite against the UConn-Illinois winner in the undercard.

“It's the Final Four for a reason. It's the best teams, the best four," Arizona freshman Brayden Burries said. "UConn, Illinois, they're great teams. If we do win Saturday, we know we have a great shot at it. But no, we're not thinking about that now.”

Depending on which mock draft you check, Arizona's top NBA pick will either be Koa Peat (14 points, 5.5 rebounds) or Burries, a 16-point-a-game, McDonalds All-American who is shooting 68% from 3 over the tournament.

It's a striking stat for a team that attempted the third-lowest percentage of 3s in the country, if only because of all the tall, lanky talent it has across the court.

“We're doubling down on what we're good at, and we're believing in Coach Lloyd," said Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, a senior who has spent three years in Tucson after transferring from Alabama. “I like to get in the paint and get fouled. And when teams take that away, we're capable from 3 and we can knock those down, as well.”

Michigan is a 1 1/2-point favorite, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook, in a matchup of the top two teams in the KenPom rankings.

Michigan's best — but hardly its only — NBA prospect is Yaxel Lendeborg, who has scored 25, 23 and 27 in three straight blowout wins in the tournament.

Lendeborg came to Michigan last offseason from UAB. He was part of a quick rebuild, the likes of which are made possible in the era of the rapid-fire transfer portal. The architect is May, who himself arrived in Ann Arbor two seasons ago, just a year removed from a Final Four appearance with Florida A&M.

Michigan's four top scorers — Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara and Elliot Cadeau — played at different colleges last season.

May conceded to feeling some relief now that the transfer portal is considered a legit way to build a roster. Gone are the days of spending hundreds of hours recruiting high schoolers, only to learn that they've chosen someplace else.

“When I say we’re saving time, we don’t waste time with all the other things,” May said. “We still have to do our research. We still have the intel. We still have to spend an inordinate amount of time. We just don’t have to spend it the way we used to.”

As this Final Four is showing, it's not just the players whose every move is under a microscope.

“I didn’t want to make this entire Final Four about that because I’m just a small part of something much bigger,” Lloyd said of his contract extension. “But on that same note, I’d also like to let you know that North Carolina is an amazing place. I mean, it’s a one of one. It’s an honor to even be considered for that job.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Arizona guard Brayden Burries smiles after a win over Purdue in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)

Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg passes during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Michigan head coach Dusty May watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against against Michigan at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)