With NFL field-goal range extended, could KC Chiefs’ Harrison Butker kick for a record?
The NFL field-goal distance stretched to a new boundary last weekend, when Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens crushed a 66-yarder on the final snap to defeat the Detroit Lions. The ball banged against the crossbar and Tucker and the Ravens got the kind bounce.
Five players had shared the record at 63, first accomplished by Tom Dempsey of the Saints in 1970.
Is 66 yards the end of the line? Maybe not.
“If one guy could break the record, it’s Harrison,” Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub said.
That’s Harrison Butker, the Chiefs’ strong-legged kicker who has been money on field goals in his four seasons in Kansas City.
Last year, Butker became the second player in NFL history to boot two 58-yard field goals in a game. That happened during a game in Los Angeles against the L.A. Chargers — and the second one won the game in overtime.
Those are the longest field goals in Butker’s career, and also in Chiefs history. Toub is convinced that under the right conditions, Butker can make at run at the new record.
“In the right situation, he can,” Toub said.
One of those situations would probably be indoors as opposed to outside. Tucker was in an enclosed environment at Detroit. If such an attempt were to be successful outdoors, Toub said, a kicker would need a breeze at his back.
Before Tucker’s game-winner on Sunday, Arizona’s Matt Prater attempted a 68-yard field goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The kick was short and the Jaguars’ Jamal Agnew fielded the ball and returned it 109 yards for a touchdown, the longest-ever such return for a score off a missed field goal in league history.
“I Know Butker can be in that range,” Toub said.
This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 12:59 PM.