Blocked Field Goals and 70-Metre Threats and Chaotic Starts: The Foot Is Back in Football

Vic Fangio, a Philadelphia Eagles’ shrewd defense coach, watched with great pride while his defensive unit forced a third-down failed pass on Sunday, leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nearly half the field away from Philadelphia's end zone with only a few ticks left before halftime.

Previously, this could have led to a desperation pass into the end zone. But instead Tampa Bay kicker Chase McLaughlin stepped onto the turf and coolly sent a 65-yard field goal through the sweltering sunny air, equaling the second-longest in NFL history.

Chase McLaughlin drills a 65-YARD FG to conclude of the half 💥

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McLaughlin later kicked a 58-yard kick that put the Bucs eight points behind late in the game. Philadelphia would escape with a 31-25 victory, but Fangio fingered one culprit: the designated kicking balls that each team are permitted to work on for use in games.

“Previously,” the coach stated during a press briefing this week, “referees would rub them down or staff would handle them, and you’d play with them. Now the balls are kept by the team throughout the week and they kick those balls that they’ve had, with no one else handling them.”

Referring to the Cowboys’ exceptional kicker, Brandon Aubrey, he added: “The guy with the Cowboys will hit a 70-plus yard field goal this season. You can just book it … I mean, who expected they would make a 65-yard kick recently? So it has significantly altered football, the kicking game and placekicking. Guys now possess greater distance than they used to.”

Rule Changes and Revitalized Kicking Units

The league appears to have (effectively) restored kicking to American football. Due to multiple regulation adjustments over recent seasons, league special teams performance has become a substantially bigger factor affecting the outcome of games. This is seen as a positive development.

“The league wants higher scoring? There it is,” Michael Clay, remarked Tuesday.

These newfangled kickoff setups might still appear contrived (the nation's leader of the United States has stated claiming they're “detrimental to the game”), but, with the rules adjusted even more so again season, they have dramatically resulted in increased activity. Squads are scoring 23.4 points per game, the second highest in history.

Kickoff Returns and The Target Area

Through four weeks, per Pro Football Reference, league clubs are posting 103.2 yards in kickoff returns each outing, the highest ever – and over four times the mean of under 25 yards per team last year, after which the league revamped its whole kickoff procedure. Just 16.5% of kickoff attempts this season have resulted in dead balls, versus 73% the previous season.

Most notably, the league encourages kickoffs dropping in a “landing zone” extending 20 yards out from end zone. Consequently, kickoff kicks are skillfully positioned, appearing much more like precision punts. Previously, kickers would simply boot kickoffs out of the end zone for touchbacks – yet that approach now leads to the ball starting on the 35-yard line.

In a prior game, in a 33-26 win against the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia had significant difficulties fielding the unpredictable, bouncing, tricky kickoffs launched by the Rams' kicker, Los Angeles' second-year kicker, resulting in five Philadelphia drives beginning or inside the 20-yard line.

However kickers cannot simply send ground balls to the other team and hope for mishandles. Kickoffs must first land, or be caught, inside that landing zone. When the Cardinals had tied last Thursday’s contest against the Seahawks with 28 seconds to play, Chad Ryland drilled a kick which landed a yard short of the landing zone.

Penalties and Game-Deciding Kicks

The penalty was severe: Seattle got possession on the 40, less than 20 yards outside the range for kicker Jason Myers. After a 22-yard pass completion and 4-yard rush, Myers – who’d earlier failed a 53-yard try – drilled a 52-yard attempt to give the Seahawks a 23-20 victory.

Upon being questioned at his after the game news conference what the kicker was trying to achieve there, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said, “Keep the ball live. That’s one of the points we discuss late in the game there with the number of stoppages, the clock, what they need on the field. We aimed to use up some time there.”

Rejected Attempts plus Special Units' Influence

The more dynamic kickoffs appear to have influenced the other aspects of the kicking game. There have been 16 rejected punts, field goals and PATs already this year. The Cowboys deflected an point after try Sunday in a 40-40 tie with the Packers, as Dallas defender Markquese Bell returning it 80 yards for a safety, a safety for Dallas. That was just the 10th occurrence this has taken place since it was first allowed a decade ago.

Josh Blackwell rejected Daniel Carlson’s 54-yard field-goal try with 33 seconds to go allowing the Bears to hold on for a 25-24 victory over the Raiders. A week after blocking two field goals versus the Rams – the second of which might have secured victory for Los Angeles but led to a contest-ending Philadelphia score – Philadelphia deflected a punt versus Tampa Bay and returned that for an early touchdown.

Tactical Play and Evolving Techniques

At the same time, Eagles veteran kicker Jake Elliott continued pinning Tampa Bay deep with skillful kickoff placements within the target area. Tampa Bay began multiple drives after his kickoffs at around the 22-yard line. His first kick fell in the target and bounced into the the goal area for a touchback. In those circumstances, Tampa Bay began on their 20-yard line.

“He does an exceptional job in trying to perfect anything he attempts,” the coach noted. “Be it a field goal, whether it’s kickoff, a lot of work goes into it in terms of behind the scenes. We practiced outside, {I know|I