From blocked kicks to hitting the uprights kickers in the NFL set a record for missed extra point attempts in a week on Sunday as there were 12 missed PATs. In an attempt to make the extra point more challenging the NFL moved back the length of the attempt from around 17 yards to about 32-33 yards.
Kickers now have a much bigger role in the lineups and they have missed more now than ever before. Key misses that happened in week 11 included two missed extra points by Cincinnati Bengals’ kicker Mike Nugent and Robbie Gould also missed two PATs.
The Bengals suffered a loss with the final score being 16-12 where the Bengals had an opportunity to toss a ball into the end zone for the win. They were unable to make the touchdown, but if the two PATs had been made they would’ve been in a place to kick a field goal for the win as they were in field goal range.
Robbie Gould missed two of his three attempts at PATs in a game against his former team, the Chicago Bears, but in the end Gould was able to come out on top as the Giants won the game 22-16. In the end the missed PATs didn’t come back to haunt the Giants like it did the Bengals.
With the amount of missed PATs that happened this week the possibility of moving the goal posts closer together is looking less likely as they league is looking to add to the possible rule changes to make the game better and more competitive. One of the changes that were made for this season was the touchback of kickoffs is moved out to the 25-yard line. Many other rules are being looked into for improving the league for next season, but moving the goal posts closer may have just been ruled out in just this one week.
