SANTA CLARA -- Two games stand between 49ers punter Andy Lee and an NFL record.Lee, the leading NFC vote-getter in the fans ballot for the Pro Bowl and the NFC special-teams player of the week, is having one of the best seasons of any punter in NFL history.
His average of 50.4 yards on 71 punts is the third-highest for a single season the league has ever seen. And his net average of 44.14 currently ranks as the best, ahead of Shane Lechler's 43.85 average of 2009. Net average has been compiled as an official NFL statistic since 1976.RELATED: NFL stats leaders
Net average is considered the greatest measure of a punter because of the team aspect of the statistic. Lee has given his coverage unit the best chance to surround the punt returner with his directional punting and hang time. Lee's punts almost always are angled outside the numbers, toward the sideline, to help direct the return man into the teeth of the coverage team."I'm hitting the ball well, and the guys are covering," Lee said. "The guys are just going out there and getting down the field. I'm able to hit my ball and I don't have to worry about anything."I know, 'Hey, we're going right,' or 'We're going left,' and I just go out and kick it."Lee can't recall ever having a game like the one Monday night in the 49ers' 20-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. His gross average was 47.5 yards. But his net average was 49.2 yards after explosive Steelers return man Antonio Brown back-tracked late in the game for a minus-10-yard return.Chris Culliver, Blake Costanzo, Larry Grant, NaVorro Bowman, Anthony Dixon, C.J. Spillman, Colin Jones and long-snapper Brian Jennings teamed up to hustle down field and bottle up Brown. Tavares Gooden was credited with the tackle.The 49ers were punting from the 11-yard line. And after the minus return and an illegal block above the waist, the Steelers took over at their own 12-yard line -- an unbelievable 77-yard flip in field position.
"I owe a lot to my guys," Lee said. "They've given me confidence to just go out and have fun. And there's nothing better than that."
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