"Fifty is the new 30 also applies to field goals. More than 70% of kicks over 50 yards are successful these days, a dramatic increase in accuracy from only five years ago. Excuse Maxwell for thinking divine intervention might be necessary should a last-second missed kick determine the outcome. A 44-yarder is a chip shot for most NFL kickers, including Ravens rookie Tyler Loop, who had made 90% of his attempts - including eight of eight from 40-49 yards - when the ball was snapped with three seconds to play and Baltimore trailing 26-24."
"Two words coined when Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard attempt that cost the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl XXV in 1991 once again were screamed on a television broadcast: "Wide right!" Another memorable miss came from a kicker regarded as the best in the NFL 20-some years ago. Brash, outspoken Mike Vanderjagt of the Indianapolis Colts led the league in scoring in 1999 and four years later became the first kicker in history to make every kick in a full season: 83 of 83 on field goals and extra points."
A Benedictine priest sprinkled holy water in the end zone before the AFC North title game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Field goals over 50 yards now succeed more than 70% of the time, a large jump from five years ago. Ravens rookie Tyler Loop had made 90% of his attempts, including eight of eight from 40-49 yards, before missing a 44-yard try with three seconds remaining while Baltimore trailed 26-24. Scott Norwood's and Mike Vanderjagt's historic misses are recalled as cautionary precedents. Loop was All Pac-12 in 2023 at Arizona with a 62-yard long and an 83.75% success rate; he is 24.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]