Seahawks rookie Tyler Lockett calls muffed punt a ‘learning experience’

Turns out Tyler Lockett is human after all.

After returning a pair of kicks for touchdowns through the first three weeks of the season, the rookie phenom showed his mortality with a muffed punt in the third quarter of the Seahawks’ 13-10 win over Detroit Monday night.

Lockett attempted to catch the ball on the run at the Seahawks’ 32-yard line, with momentum giving him the look of another potential big play. And then the ball bounced off the bottom of his facemask.

“I tried to set it up to where I could just run real fast and catch it and go,” he said. “It’s just a learning experience. I wasn’t mad at myself. I just knew what I did wrong and I should have just did what I’ve been doing – just sit there and catch it.”

The Seahawks’ defense stiffened after Lockett’s gaffe, driving the Lions back 4 yards while forcing a three-and-out. Thus, Lockett’s first major mistake didn’t really cause any harm.

Lockett said catching the ball on the run is something he is taught to do on kickoff returns, but not punt returns.

“I knew it was there and when I saw it, I tried to catch it on the run, which sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” he said. “But like I said, it’s just a learning experience at the end of the day.”

Lockett was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the month in September. He also excelled on the offensive side Monday, catching five passes for 58 yards. One of the most impressive came on one of Russell Wilson’s Houdini scrambles, with Lockett breaking off his route. He credited the coaching staff for emphasizing being able to get open for Wilson when he breaks the pocket.

“They try to teach us certain things to be able to get open on scrambles, like scramble rules. But at the end of the day, it’s just being able to get open and being able to get into an open area,” he said.

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