Johnny Hekker unleashes his leg to keep Rams in good position

This was the football equivalent of John Daly crushing a 350-yard drive off the tee or Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton blasting a 485-foot homer.

Punter Johnny Hekker stood at his five-yard line early in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the Rams and the New York Jets locked in a 6-6 tie, and took a long snap from Jake McQuaide, who was at the 17-yard line.

Hekker swung his right leg viciously upward and found the sweet spot on the ball, launching it high into the late-afternoon sky above MetLife Stadium. Jets return man Jalin Marshall retreated to his five-yard line to make the catch, meaning Hekker’s punt traveled 78 yards, the fourth-longest in Rams history.

In the air.

“It’s like you got the hybrid [club] out on the fairway and you really just lay into one and you know it’s going,” Hekker said. “There are times you feel it’s a good one and it’s not, and sometimes you feel it’s a bad one, and it’s good. Like golf, you stripe at the ball, and it goes. This one flew pretty good.”

Marshall returned the punt to the 15-yard line, where he was tackled by Cory Littleton. The Jets went three and out, and the Rams got great field position — at their 48-yard line — after Lachlan Edwards’ punt traveled only 35 yards.

The Rams drove deep enough into Jets territory to position Greg Zuerlein for the 34-yard field goal that gave them a 9-6 victory, but the Rams would not have ended a four-game losing streak if not for Hekker, who punted seven times for 362 yards (51.7-yard average) and placed four punts inside the 20-yard line.

“When you’re looking at one 10-yard line and you see the ball end up on the other 10-yard line, that’s a good change of field,” Rams defensive end Robert Quinn said. “That’s why he’s a two-time Pro Bowler. He’s a special punter. They don’t get a lot of credit, but he helps us out a lot.”

The Rams were unable to punch the ball into the end zone but won a decisive victory in the field-position battle thanks to Hekker, whose work day started late in the first quarter, when, with the help of cover man Bradley Marquez, he pinned the Jets at their one-yard line.

Late in the second quarter from the Rams’ 16, Hekker boomed a 59-yard punt that, combined with Jalin Marshall’s fumble and Nick Marshall’s illegal block above the waist, pinned the Jets at their 10-yard line.

Early in the third quarter, a 52-yard Hekker punt, combined with Bryce Hager’s coverage tackle and another illegal block, pushed the Jets to their five-yard line. Hekker capped his day with his prodigious 78-yard big fly.

“That was a huge punt,” Rams Coach Jeff Fisher said. “They left their defense on the field. They were looking for a fake. As we always say, our fake history helps us at times and the plan was just to bomb it. He hit it perfectly, and the guys did a great job covering.

“We knew special teams had to have a huge day, and they did. Hekker and his cover guys did a fabulous job flipping the field a couple of times.”

As good as defensive tackle Aaron Donald has been, Hekker’s name has come up in conversations about the Rams’ most valuable player. He has an NFL-leading 28 punts placed inside the 20-yard line and entered Sunday with a 43.6-yard net average, third best in the league.

Such talk makes Hekker a little uncomfortable.

“I think they don’t really know what a punt team is all about,” Hekker said. “It’s not one player. … I’m not getting that punt off if the snap is not in the right spot. If my guys aren’t blocking, every punt is getting blocked. I really owe it to the other 10 guys who are out there doing their job.

“If they’re not flying down there … and tackling the returner, we’re not making those plays. I’m playing on one of the best punt teams I’ve ever played on. They’re really making me look good.”

Hekker booted a 75-yard punt last week against Carolina, but he got a lucky bounce, and the ball traveled 20-25 yards after it hit the ground. Sunday’s kick left his teammates in awe.

“Oh my God, he did an amazing job today,” linebacker Mark Barron said. “I’ve never seen anyone punt a ball like that. It was unbelievable.”