Just because NFL kickers are better than ever before doesn’t mean the league is going to make it tougher on them to score three points.
The league has never seen so many made field goal attempts from 50 or more yards, and there have been some questions about potentially narrowing the goalposts to make kicks more difficult. Multiple sources tell CBS Sports there have been no legitimate conversations within the NFL around adjusting the goalpost width.
Asked specifically Thursday whether the NFL is considering narrowing the goalposts, NFL EVP Jeff Miller said: “There’s no pending rule change on the matter, but the competition committee for sure is going to take a look at it and we’ll follow the data as the season goes on and continue to track it.”
It wasn’t a straight-out no, but sources say it’s not even being considered at all.
There is 18 feet and 6 inches between the uprights in the NFL, which is the same as college. Through the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season, the league has seen the second-most field goals made in a season and the most 50-plus-yard field goals made by far. The 85.6% make rate is sixth-highest in the league since 2000, and the 74.8% make rate on kicks 50 or more yards is the best ever.
Kickers have already made 77 kicks of 50 or more yards, which are 14 more than last year’s high at this point in the season.
From 2000 into 2021, the league saw an average of less than 28 field goals made from 50 or more yards in the first six weeks of the season. In the past three years there’s been an average of 67 in the first six weeks.
The improved kicking has helped the NFL in a number of ways. The NFL is averaging 44.9 points per game, right at its magic number of 45 and the most in the league at this point of the season since 2021.
Coaches are going for it on fourth downs more than ever before, and today the league sees about as many coaches go for it on fourth-and-3 situations as fourth-and-1 less than a decade ago.
Kickers are lengthening drives, which helps speed up the game. They’re also helping to eliminate the punt.
Through six weeks there are 7.51 punts per game. It’s the second-lowest rate in the league since 2000, trailing only 2020’s 7.12 punts/game. The NFL has said in the years since the 2020 season that it treats that season as aberrational for the purposes of scoring.
Data over the past several decades indicates kickers will be less accurate in colder weather than warmer, so a decrease in accuracy is anticipated.
And with enhanced technology, the NFL has been able to track just how accurate kickers really are for nearly a decade. The league tracks where the ball is in relation to the middle of the uprights when it passes over the crossbar.
The NFL average this year through six weeks for field goals is 1.6 yards from the middle of the crossbar (or 4 feet, 10 inches). So far this season, Washington Commanders kicker Chase McLaughlin has been closer to the middle of the uprights than anyone else in the league. He’s made all 11 attempts with an average of just 0.7 yards (or 2 feet, 1 inch) off center.
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Author: Jonathan Jones
October 17, 2024 | 4:51 pm
