Our Finest Performs of 2022 sequence continues immediately with a fan favourite from final season who served as a supply of salvation after years of Packers followers wandering the desert of abysmal particular groups. As voted on by our APC contributors, Keisean Nixon’s 94 yard kick return vs. the Miami Dolphins in week 16 is available in at #6 on our listing.

6: Keisean Nixon opens the sport with a bang

Earlier than 2022, the Packers’ particular groups produced years of play starting from mediocre to a Hindenburg-level catastrophe, generally all inside the similar sport. Nonetheless, the unit confirmed indicators of life final season with the hiring of Wealthy Bisaccia. After the 2021 season wherein they ranked useless final in particular groups DVOA, the 2022 unit rose to a decent seventeenth. Bisaccia introduced a way of objective each in who was signed for particular groups and the place snaps have been allotted, as our personal Justis Mosqueda mentioned right here.

The largest revelation on this aspect of the ball was Keisean Nixon, a participant who would doubtless be spoken about in 3 AM “Hey do you bear in mind when?” conversations for years to come back even when he by no means performed one other down. Fortunately, the First Workforce All-Professional returner will probably be in inexperienced and gold for a minimum of yet another 12 months after he re-signed this offseason. What he represented for a moribund return sport beforehand led by Amari Rodgers cannot be overstated. Nixon exploded onto the scene with 35 returns for 1009 yards and a landing. Earlier than 2022, he had solely returned 6 kicks in his profession, a testomony not solely to his expertise however Bisaccia’s means to domesticate it.

Coming into week 16’s matchup, the Packers have been clinging to expensive life within the NFC playoff race. The Dolphins have been reeling after a scorching begin, having misplaced three straight. Regardless of a commanding first half lead, the Dolphins would go on to lose this one as a result of three second-half interceptions thrown by Tua Tagovailoa, who was later revealed to have suffered a concussion within the first half and been allowed to remain within the sport.

This week’s play begins all the best way at first of the competition although, as Keisean Nixon set the tone early. After the Dolphins’ opening drive resulted in a subject purpose, Jason Sanders made the error of kicking off to Nixon and letting him cook dinner. He returned the kick 93 yards to Miami’s nine-yard line, setting the Packers up in an unbelievable place which they promptly squandered to accept a subject purpose. This stretched Nixon’s unbelievable streak of 100-yard return video games to 6, which etched his title into the Packers’ historical past books eternally. Though Nixon is about to play extra snaps within the slot this 12 months, we’d all do nicely to not doubt his means to make huge performs on one other aspect of the ball.

That’s a wrap for the primary week of our Finest Performs sequence! We’ll be again on Monday to start the highest 5 countdown, culminating in our #1 play being revealed subsequent Friday.