Special Teams: Kicker Chris Boswell, long snapper Christian Kuntz, punter Corliss Waitman
The absolute confidence the Steelers have in kicker Chris Boswell was apparent for openers this season.
They trailed the Jets, 32-31, with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J., and faced a third-and-11 at the Jets' 42-yard line. Yet rather than attempt to pick up a first down, or even 5 or so yards that would make a subsequent field goal attempt a little more palpable, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw long for wide receiver Calvin Austin III. The pass fell incomplete.
Boswell's response was to deliver what would turn out to be the game-winning kick from 60 yards away, as the Steelers suspected Boswell would all along if it came to that.
"'Boz' always makes it from 60 in pregame," then-head coach Mike Tomlin reasoned to the media afterward. "'Boz' always wants to bang from deep. That one he made in the first half (from 56 yards away with 13:30 left in the second quarter), I don't even know if he looked at me. It's fourth down (fourth-and-6 from the Jets' 37) and he walked onto the field.
"But that's the type of guy you want banging for you under those circumstances."
Those two field goals against the Jets were two of nine Boswell made from 50 yards or longer on 11 such attempts in 2025. He finished 27-for-32 on field goals overall (a success rate of 84.4 percent) and went 42-for-43 on extra points.
It was a slight step back statistically for Boswell, who had led the NFL with 41 field goals and 158 points while earning Associated Press First-Team All-Pro honors in 2024.
But the Steelers' 11th-year kicker still finished tied for 12th in the NFL with 123 points.
Corliss Waitman had a gross average of 45.5 yards and a net average of 41.7 yards on 62 punts. Waitman had more punts downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line (26) than he had returned (25) and the Steelers allowed just 175 punt return yards on the season. The Steelers finished sixth in opponents' punt return average (7.0 yards per) and eighth in opponents' kickoff return average (25.2).
The coverage units excelled despite losing special teams captain Miles Killebrew for the rest of the season due to injury in the fifth game of the season, on Oct. 12 against Cleveland.
Killebrew had been a First-Team All-Pro on special teams in 2023.
Wide receiver Ben Skowronek took over the special teams leadership in Killebrew's absence and led the Steelers with 21 special teams tackles. Skowronek was named to the Pro Bowl Games as a special teams player this season.
Rookie inside linebacker Carson Bruener (19), inside linebacker Payton Wilson (17) and rookie outside linebacker Jack Sawyer (14) also produced double-digit figures in special teams tackles.
The lowlight for the kicking game occurred in the fourth quarter of what became a 31-17 loss to Seattle on Sept. 14 at Acrisure Stadium. Rookie running back Kaleb Johnson didn't field a kickoff that bounced in the leading zone and into the end zone and the Seahawks eventually fell on the ball for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead with 12:46 left in the fourth quarter.
But the special teams also came up with three fumble recoveries.
The most spectacular of those occurred when running back Kenny Gainwell forced a fumble with covering a kickoff in the first minute of the fourth quarter against New York. Skowronek recovered at the New York 22 and two plays later the Steelers had a touchdown and a 31-26 lead.
Another sign of things to come for openers.
