Piñeiro, Dike Shine: Former Florida Gators earn NFL special teams honors
Former Florida Gators standouts Eddy Piñeiro and Chimere Dike were named the NFL’s Special Teams Players of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.
Piñeiro earned the NFC honor after a big performance for the San Francisco 49ers last Thursday. He scored 14 points in the 26-23 overtime win against the Rams, including the game-winning field goal..
All in all, Piñeiro was perfect on the day by making all four of his field goal attempts from 37, 20, 59, and 41 yards, and both extra points. His 59-yard kick in the first half was the longest of his career and the second-longest in 49ers history.
Piñeiro, who kicked for Florida from 2016-2017, led the nation in field goal percentage (94.4%) during his second season with the Gators.
Dike took home the AFC award after a strong showing for the Tennessee Titans in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals. He totaled 136 return yards on three punts and four kickoffs, including a 65-yard kickoff return that set up a field goal.
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In his lone season at Florida in 2024, Dike caught 42 passes for 783 yards and two touchdowns and added 187 punt return yards. He became the first Titans player other than a kicker or punter to win the weekly special teams honor since defensive back Dane Cruikshank in 2018.
A fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Dike currently leads the league in all-purpose yards (783), ahead of Christian McCaffrey (669), Puka Nacua (640), KaVontae Turpin (617), and Jonathan Taylor (613).
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