Well deserved
49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky has been named the NFC special teams player of the month for September. Wishnowsky has punted 14 times for an average of 46.8 yards, including the longest punt of the season, which went 74 yards.
Furthermore, Wishnowky has placed six of his 14 punts inside the opponent’s 10-yard line, which also leads the league. This is the second time Wishnowsky has been named the player of the month, as it happened in September 2021.
Through three weeks, the 49ers have the second-best punt team per DVOA at 2.8%. Last year they finished fifth in DVOA. So, Wishnowky is continuing to improve, and that explains his recent extension.
Equally as important is the punt team limiting yards. The 49ers have allowed nine return yards on six return attempts. No other team has surrendered single-digit return yards to start the season among qualifying punters. If you haven’t noticed, the special teams have been night and day compared to last year under Richard Hightower.