Graham Gano made a field goal from 57 yards on Thursday night, and it wasn’t a big deal. It was expected. That’s how good kickers have become in today’s game.
Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I remember there being kickers who could hit from 50-plus, and they were in the minority. You were aware of those guys going into drafts (particularly in leagues giving bonuses for longer kicks). And there were definitely kickers who couldn’t hit from 50-plus.
Nowadays, everyone can hit from 50-plus, and a growing number don’t seem to have much problem going past 55 yards. The position as a whole is better than ever before.
Consider Jake Elliott. He’s made field goals from 56 and 61 yards in his first two games, and he made field goals from 56 and 59 in his final two preseason games. Back in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, there were only 28 successful kicks over 55 yards in those 30 seasons – Elliott has made them four weeks in a row.
Kickers just keep getting stronger and better. There were 50 field goals from at least 55 yards last year, almost twice as many as ever before. It’s early (we’re only two weeks in), but teams are currently on pace to finish with close to 10 more this season.
And with defenses running ahead of offenses right now, I think we’ll continue to see plenty of field goal attempts this season.
| FIELD GOALS FROM 55-PLUS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | FG | FGA | Pct |
| 2002 | 2 | 12 | .167 |
| 2003 | 4 | 13 | .308 |
| 2004 | 2 | 11 | .182 |
| 2005 | 5 | 15 | .333 |
| 2006 | 3 | 8 | .375 |
| 2007 | 4 | 16 | .250 |
| 2008 | 8 | 15 | .533 |
| 2009 | 6 | 23 | .261 |
| 2010 | 10 | 21 | .476 |
| 2011 | 13 | 29 | .448 |
| 2012 | 17 | 38 | .447 |
| 2013 | 12 | 26 | .462 |
| 2014 | 14 | 31 | .452 |
| 2015 | 13 | 24 | .542 |
| 2016 | 15 | 36 | .417 |
| 2017 | 24 | 42 | .571 |
| 2018 | 26 | 43 | .605 |
| 2019 | 16 | 37 | .432 |
| 2020 | 25 | 48 | .521 |
| 2021 | 26 | 54 | .481 |
| 2022 | 50 | 82 | .610 |
| 2023 | 7 | 16 | .438 |
Here’s the rundown of individuals who’ve attempted field goals from at least 55 yards so far.
| FG ATTEMPTS FROM 55-PLUS YARDS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp | Result | Dist | Good? |
| 2023 | Jake Elliott, Phil. | Min. | W 34-28 | 61 | Y |
| 2023 | Justin Tucker, Balt. | at Cin. | W 27-24 | 59 | N |
| 2023 | Joey Slye, Was. | at Den. | W 35-33 | 59 | N |
| 2023 | Brett Maher, LAR | at Sea. | W 30-13 | 57 | N |
| 2023 | Graham Gano, NYG | at S.F. | L 12-30 | 57 | Y |
| 2023 | Jake Moody, S.F. | at LAR | W 30-23 | 57 | Y |
| 2023 | Chase McLaughlin, T.B. | at Min. | W 20-17 | 57 | Y |
| 2023 | Brett Maher, LAR | at Sea. | W 30-13 | 56 | N |
| 2023 | Jake Elliott, Phil. | at N.E. | W 25-20 | 56 | Y |
| 2023 | Jason Myers, Sea. | at Det. | W 37-31 | 56 | N |
| 2023 | Dustin Hopkins, Cle. | at Pitt. | L 22-26 | 55 | Y |
| 2023 | Jason Sanders, Mia. | at N.E. | W 24-17 | 55 | N |
| 2023 | Matt Prater, Ari. | NYG | L 28-31 | 55 | N |
| 2023 | Brandon Aubrey, Dall. | NYJ | W 30-10 | 55 | Y |
| 2023 | Wil Lutz, Den. | L.V. | L 16-17 | 55 | N |
| 2023 | Jake Elliott, Phil. | Min. | W 34-28 | 55 | N |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
—Ian Allan