NFL kickers better than ever on long field goals, but missing key kicks late in games

Two things are happening simultaneously in the NFL this season, especially in the past two weeks: Kickers are making longer field goals more often and more consistently than ever before, and they’re also changing the outcome of games by missing kicks in crucial moments.

Consider this past weekend. Washington’s Austin Seibert missed a game-tying extra point with 21 seconds left in a loss to the Cowboys, and Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 28-yard field goal in the final two minutes that would have tied the game against Tennessee. The Cowboys won despite a blocked field goal and a miss from the usually near-perfect Brandon Aubrey.

All this during a week when NFL kickers went 14-for-16 on field goals of 50 yards and longer.

A week earlier, the Bengals’ Evan McPherson missed two field goals in the fourth quarter of a tied game that Cincinnati would lose, the Falcons’ Younghoe Koo missed three field goals in a three-point loss to the Saints, and the Ravens’ Justin Tucker, one of the game’s all-time best kickers, missed two field goals in a close loss to the Steelers. The Bears’ Cairo Santos had a game-winning field goal blocked by the Packers as time expired.

NFL kickers went 14-for-18 on field goals of 50 and longer that week.

Five years ago, the league average on kicks of 50 and longer was 58%, but this year, the success rate is an unprecedented 73%. If that short-term improvement doesn’t stand out, consider that in 1994, the same success rate was 36%, and in 1974, it was 13%.

NFL kickers have made more 50-plus field goals in the past two weeks (28) than they did in the entire 1994 season. Coaches are trusting their kickers from farther and farther out, so long field goals are much more common. Five years ago, the league had 84 successful field goals from 50-plus yards; this season, the NFL is on pace for 205.

That makes kickers all the more important to an NFL team’s success. Teams are averaging a record 1.76 field goals per game this season (up 10% from five…

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Publish date : 2024-11-27 13:30:00

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