Buffalo Bills punter Sam Martin (8) Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Bills punter makes weak tackle attempt on final play

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 9/12/23

Lost in the Aaron Rodgers injury and dramatic finish to the Week 1 “Monday Night Football” game between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills was just how pathetic of a tackle attempt punter Sam Martin made.

Jets rookie Xavier Gipson won the game with a punt return for a touchdown in overtime to give his team a 22-16 victory. An ESPN analyst noted that a tripping infraction should have been called on the play. But what received less attention was Martin’s effort.

Many people shared video clips on social media of Martin’s attempt to tackle Gipson. Some commented that it seemed like Martin was playing a version of two-hand touch.

When someone says “I could tackle Derrick Henry if I had 10 tries” show them this video pic.twitter.com/g57DHO7ZBz

— Tyler Loechner (@LoechnerNFL) September 12, 2023

Maybe Martin got faked out and then reached out to try forcing a fumble? Who knows. But with the game on the line, many people expected him to do a better job of trying to stop Gipson from scoring.

Former placekicker Jay Feely, who is a special teams analyst, called Martin’s entire play “brutal.”

Brutal by Sam Martin here.
1st the punt is a right punt, from the right hash, all the coverage team is running that way and he pulls it short and left- that throws off the coverage big time, then a terrible effort to make the tackle at the end of the return https://t.co/Y1zJknEcR0

— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) September 12, 2023