My Little Dive into the Extra Point Kick
So, I’ve been watching a fair bit of NFL lately, just enjoying the games, you know? And something kept sticking in my mind about the kicks after touchdowns, the Point After Touchdown, or PAT.
I remember, clear as day, watching games years ago. It felt like those extra points were practically guaranteed. The kicker would trot out, pop it through, and everyone moved on. Seemed like they were kicking it from super close, almost like a formality.
But things feel different now.
Lately, you see misses! Kickers shank ’em sometimes, or they get blocked more often, maybe? It just looks… harder. The kick definitely seems longer than I remembered. It got me thinking, did they change something? My memory’s not perfect, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t always like this.
So, I did a bit of digging, mostly just paying closer attention during the broadcasts and trying to recall when things might have shifted. I vaguely remembered some talk about rule changes a few seasons back aimed at making the PAT less automatic.
Here’s what I sort of pieced together from watching and remembering:
- The Old Way: They used to snap the ball from the 2-yard line. That meant the actual kick was only about 19 or 20 yards. Pretty much a chip shot for any pro kicker. No wonder it felt automatic.
- The New Way: Now, they snap it from the 15-yard line. That’s a big jump back! When you account for the snap and the end zone depth, the kick itself becomes about 33 yards. That’s basically a short field goal, not a gimme anymore.
Finding this out made sense of what I was seeing. It wasn’t just my imagination; the kick is significantly longer now. They moved it back in, I think, 2015. It explains why teams sometimes consider going for two points more often, and why those PATs aren’t just a guaranteed point anymore.
It definitely adds a little more spice to the game right after a score. No more taking that extra point for granted. Just thought I’d share what I noticed and figured out. Makes watching the kicks a bit more interesting for me now.
