Field goal


A field goal is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. American football requires that a field goal must only come during a play from scrimmage, while Canadian football retains open field kicks and thus field goals may be scored at any time from anywhere on the field and by any player. The vast majority of field goals, in both codes, are place kicked. Drop kicked field goals were common in the early days of gridiron football but are almost never done in modern times. In most leagues, a successful field goal awards three points.
A field goal may also be scored through a fair catch kick, but this is extremely rare. Since a field goal is worth only three points, as opposed to a touchdown, which is worth six points, it is usually only attempted in specific situations.
The goal structure consists of a horizontal crossbar suspended above the ground, with two vertical goalposts apart extending vertically from each end of the crossbar. In American football, the goals are centered on each end line; in Canadian football, they are centered on each goal line.

Strategy

As a field goal is worth only three points, while a touchdown scores at least six, teams will generally attempt a field goal only in the following situations:
Except in desperate situations, a team will generally attempt field goals only when keeping a drive alive is unlikely, and its kicker has a significant chance of success, as a missed field goal results in a turnover at the spot of the kick or at the line of scrimmage. In American high school rules and Canadian football, where a missed field goal is treated the same as a punt, most teams still opt not to attempt field goals from very long range since field goal formations are not conducive to covering kick returns. Even under ideal conditions, the best professional kickers historically had difficulty making kicks longer than 50 yards consistently. If a team chooses not to attempt a field goal on their last down, they can punt to the other team. A punt cannot score any points in American football unless the receiving team touches the ball first and the kicking team recovers it, but it may push the other team back toward its own end.
The longest field goal kick in NFL history is 64 yards, a record set by Matt Prater on December 8, 2013. The previous record was 63, originally set by Tom Dempsey and then matched by Jason Elam, Sebastian Janikowski, David Akers, Graham Gano, and Brett Maher. The record in the CFL is 62 yards, set by Paul McCallum on October 27, 2001. High school, college and most professional football leagues offer only a three-point field goal; however, some professional leagues have encouraged more rare kicks through four-point field goals. NFL Europe encouraged long field goals of 50 yards or more by making those worth four points instead of three, a rule since adopted by the Stars Football League. Similarly, the sport of arena football sought to repopularize the drop kick by making that worth four points; it failed, since only one kicker was able to do it with any semblance of proficiency.
The overall field goal percentage during the 2010 NFL season was 82.3%. In comparison, Jan Stenerud, one of only three pure kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had a career field goal percentage of 66.8% from 1967 to 1985.

How field goals are kicked

When a team decides to attempt a field goal, it will generally line up in a very tight formation, with all but two players lined up along or near the line of scrimmage: the placekicker and the holder. The holder is usually the team's punter or backup quarterback. Instead of the regular center, a team may have a dedicated long snapper trained especially to snap the ball on placekick attempts and punts.
The holder usually lines up seven to eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, with the kicker a few yards behind him. Upon receiving the snap, the holder holds the ball against the ground vertically, with the stitches away from the kicker. The kicker begins his approach during the snap, so the snapper and holder have little margin for error. A split-second mistake can disrupt the entire attempt. Depending on the level of play, the ball, upon reaching the holder, is held up by either the aid of a small rubber "tee" or is held up by the ground.
The measurement of a field goal's distance is from the goalpost to the point where the ball was positioned for the kick by the holder. In American football, where the goalpost is located at the back of the end zone, the ten yards of the end zone are added to the yard line distance at the spot of the hold.
Until the 1960s, placekickers approached the ball straight on, with the toe making first contact with the ball. The technique of kicking the ball "soccer-style", by approaching the ball at an angle and kicking it with the instep, was introduced by Hungarian-born kicker Pete Gogolak in the 1960s. Reflecting his roots in European soccer, Gogolak observed that kicking the ball at an angle could cover more distance than kicking straight-on; he played college football at Cornell and made his pro debut in 1964 with the Buffalo Bills of the AFL; his younger brother Charlie was also an NFL kicker. The soccer-style kick gained popularity and was nearly universal by the late 1970s; the last straight-on kicker in the NFL was Mark Moseley, who retired in 1986.

Successful field goals

If there is any time left in the half, the method of resuming play after a successful field goal varies between leagues.

Missed field goals

A missed field goal is said to be "no good" if the kicked ball does not cross between the uprights and over the crossbar of the goal posts. If it misses to the side of the uprights, it may be called "wide left" or "wide right" as the case may be. A field goal attempt may be described as "short" if it does not have sufficient distance to go over the cross bar. Some commentators will only describe a field goal attempt as being short if it appears to have been aimed correctly while others will describe an attempt appearing to lack both accuracy and distance as being both wide and short.
If a field goal attempt is missed and does not go out of bounds, a defensive player may catch the ball and return it, like a punt or kickoff. Or a defensive player may pick up the ball on the bounce or while rolling before it stops rolling and is declared dead by a referee. This type of play usually occurs during an extremely long field goal attempt due to the distance the defense must travel to reach the returner. If there is a significant likelihood of a miss and the strategic game situation warrants it, the defense places a player downfield, in or near their end zone, to catch the ball. The risk in this is that the return man may be tackled deep in his own territory, at a considerably worse position than he could have gotten by letting the ball go dead ; furthermore, should the returner fumble the ball, the kicking team can recover it and gain a new set of downs. Thus, teams will usually return a kick only towards the end of a half or in a particularly desperate situation.
If a ball caroms off one of the goal posts or the crossbar, but lands in the field of play, the ball is considered dead and cannot be returned. However, if the ball caroms off one of the goal posts or the crossbar and continues into the goal, the score counts.
Situations where the defense does not return a missed field goal vary between leagues and levels of play:

Blocked field goals

Occasionally, the defense will succeed in blocking a field goal. If a blocked field goal is in or behind the neutral zone, it is treated like a fumble and can be advanced by either team. Beyond the neutral zone, a blocked kick is treated like a punt and can be advanced only by the defense, unless a defensive player fumbles the ball, after which an offensive player can advance it.

History

In the early days of football, kicking was highly emphasized. In 1883, the scoring system was devised, with field goals counting for five points, and touchdowns and conversions worth four apiece. In 1897, the touchdown was raised to five points while the conversion was lowered to one point. Field goals were devalued to four points in 1904, and then to the modern three points in 1909. The touchdown was changed to six points in 1912 in American football; the Canadian game followed suit in 1956.
The spot of the conversion has also changed through the years. In 1924, NCAA rules spotted the conversion at the 3-yard line, before moving it back to the 5-yard line in 1925. In 1929, the spot was moved up to the 2-yard line, matching the NFL. In 1968, the NCAA diverged from the NFL rules in moving the spot back to the original 3-yard line. Canadian rules originally spotted the conversion at the 5-yard line, which remains closer than in the American code as the goalposts are at the front of the end zone.
In, to make conversion kicks harder, the NFL and CFL moved the line of scrimmage for conversion kicks to the 15- and 25-yard lines, respectively.
The goalposts were originally located on the goal line; this led to many injuries and sometimes interfered with play. The NCAA moved the goal posts to the rear of the end zone in 1927. The NFL followed suit, but moved the posts back to the goal line starting in the 1932 NFL Playoff Game, a change made necessary by the size of the indoor Chicago Stadium and kept when the NFL rules stopped mirroring the NCAA rules in. The NFL kept the goal posts at the goal line until 1974, when they were moved back to the rear of the end zone, where they have remained since. This was partly a result of the narrowed hashmark distance made in, which had made for easier field-goal angles. The Canadian game still has posts on the goal line.
The width of the goalposts and the hashmarks have also varied throughout the years. In 1959, the NCAA goalposts were widened to, the standard width for high school posts today. In 1991, the college goalposts were reduced in width to, matching the NFL. For the 1991 and 1992 seasons, this meant potentially severe angles for short field goal attempts, since the hashmark width remained at. In 1993, the NCAA narrowed the distance between the hashmarks to, matching what was the width of hashmarks in the NFL from through ; the NFL narrowed the hashmarks in 1972 to goalpost width at. In the CFL, the hashmarks are, but the field is in width, wider than the American field.
The NFL increased the height of the uprights above the crossbar to in and in 1974. In, they were raised five feet to after the adoption of a proposal by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
The "slingshot" goalpost, with a single post curving to support the crossbar, was invented by Jim Trimble and Joel Rottman in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The first were built by Alcan and displayed at Expo 67, the World's fair in Montreal. The NFL had standardized the goalposts in 1966 and adopted the slingshot for the season; the NCAA later adopted the same rule, but later allowed the use of "offset" goalposts, with two posts rather than one. The CFL was the first league to use the new goalposts; they made their debut in the 2nd game of the CFL's Eastern Conference final in 1966, and were used in the Grey Cup the next week at Vancouver's Empire Stadium. Three schools in Division I FBS currently use dual-support posts: Florida State, LSU, and Washington State. A special exemption was allowed by the NFL for the New Orleans Saints to use the offset goalposts during the 2005 season, when they used LSU's stadium for home games after Hurricane Katrina.
Goalposts at the professional level today are sometimes equipped with a camera mounted to the stanchion immediately behind the center of the crossbar. Since these cameras are both above and slightly behind the crossbar, a field goal attempt will be judged good if it strikes this equipment.
The usage of small, rubberized "tees" for field goals varies depending on the level of play. Unlike in the lower ranks of football up to the high school level, the NFL has never allowed the use of small rubber tees for field goal attempts, having always required kickers to kick off the ground for such attempts. In 1948, the NCAA authorized the use of a small rubberized kicking tee for field goals and extra points, but banned them by 1989, requiring kicks from the ground like in the NFL. The Canadian Football League, despite its status as a professional league, does allow for the use of such a tee for field goals and convert kicks, but it is optional, as kickers can also kick off the ground if they so desire.
During the NFL season, a record 90 field goals of 50 yards or longer were made. In, this record was increased to 92 field goals of 50 yards or longer.

Longest field goal records

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest recorded field goal successfully kicked at any level was 69 yards. It was kicked by Ove Johansson of the Abilene Christian University Wildcats in the 1976 game against East Texas State University Lions in Shotwell Stadium, Abilene, Texas.

NFL

The longest field goal made in a game was 64 yards by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos. The longest field goal attempt in an NFL game was 76 yards by Sebastian Janikowski on September 28, 2008. Brett Maher of the Dallas Cowboys is the only kicker to successfully make 3 field goals of 60 or more yards.
In the history of the NFL regular season, only 22 field goals have been made from at least 60 yards:
DistanceKickerTeamResultOppositionDateNotesLocationElevationWeather
64 yardsMatt PraterDenver Broncos51–28Tennessee TitansDecember 8, 2013End of 1st halfSports Authority Field at Mile High; Sunny; Wind: S at 3 mph; Humidity: 72%
63 yardsTom DempseyNew Orleans Saints19–17Detroit LionsNovember 8, 1970Born with a stub for a right foot. Game-winning kick as time expired. Detroit kicker Errol Mann had kicked a field goal with 0:11 remaining to give Lions the lead. Previous record was 56 yards Tulane Stadium
63 yardsJason ElamDenver Broncos37–24Jacksonville JaguarsOctober 25, 1998First field goal to tie recordMile High Stadium
63 yardsSebastian JanikowskiOakland Raiders23–20Denver BroncosSeptember 12, 2011Left-footedSports Authority Field at Mile HighLight rain early
63 yardsDavid AkersSan Francisco 49ers30–22Green Bay PackersSeptember 9, 2012Left-footed; end of first half; ball bounced off crossbar before crossing the planeLambeau Field; Mostly Cloudy; Wind: N at 7 mph; Humidity: 43%
63 yardsGraham GanoCarolina Panthers33–31New York GiantsOctober 7, 2018Game-winning field goal as time expired.Bank of America Stadium ; Mostly Sunny; Wind: E at 6 mph; Humidity: 59%
63 yardsBrett MaherDallas Cowboys37-10Philadelphia EaglesOctober 20, 2019End of 1st halfAT&T Stadium584 ft
62 yardsMatt BryantTampa Bay Buccaneers23–21Philadelphia EaglesOctober 22, 2006Game-winning kick as time expiredRaymond James Stadium
62 yardsStephen GostkowskiNew England Patriots33–8Oakland RaidersNovember 19, 2017Right-footed; kicked as time expired at the end of the first halfAzteca Stadium; Mostly Cloudy
62 yardsBrett MaherDallas Cowboys29-23 Philadelphia EaglesDecember 9, 2018Right-footed; kicked as first half endedAT&T Stadium567 ft
Retractable Roof Closed
62 yardsBrett MaherDallas Cowboys22-24New York JetsOctober 13, 2019Right-footed; kicked as first half endedMetLife Stadium7 ft
; mostly sunny; Wind: S at 7 mph; Humidity: 51%
61 yardsSebastian JanikowskiOakland Raiders9–23Cleveland BrownsDecember 27, 2009Left-footedCleveland Browns Stadium
61 yardsJay FeelyArizona Cardinals16–19 Buffalo BillsOctober 14, 2012Right-footed; longest game-tying field goal with 1:09 remaining in the 4th quarter, missed a 38-yard field goal that would have won the game at the end of regulationUniversity of Phoenix StadiumRetractable roof closed
61 yardsJustin TuckerBaltimore Ravens18–16Detroit LionsDecember 16, 2013Right-footed; game-winning field goal with 43 seconds remaining; sixth field goal of the gameFord FieldDome
61 yardsGreg ZuerleinSt. Louis Rams18–21 Minnesota VikingsNovember 8, 2015Right-footedTCF Bank Stadium; sunny
61 yardsJake ElliottPhiladelphia Eagles27–24New York GiantsSeptember 24, 2017Right-footed; game winning kick as time expired. Second game of NFL career. NFL rookie record for longest made field goal.Lincoln Financial Field; sunny
60 yardsSteve CoxCleveland Browns9–12Cincinnati BengalsOctober 21, 1984Straight-ahead kick; on AstroTurfRiverfront Stadium
60 yardsMorten AndersenNew Orleans Saints17–20Chicago BearsOctober 27, 1991Left-footed; on AstroTurf; first 60-yard kick done indoorsLouisiana SuperdomeSea levelDome
60 yardsRob BironasTennessee Titans20–17Indianapolis ColtsDecember 3, 2006Right-footed; game winner with six seconds remainingLP Field
60 yardsDan CarpenterMiami Dolphins10–13Cleveland BrownsDecember 5, 2010End of 1st halfSun Life Stadium, wind SW at
60 yardsGreg ZuerleinSt. Louis Rams19–13Seattle SeahawksSeptember 30, 2012In his rookie season; longest field goal in third quarter; also kicked a 58-yard field goal in the first quarterEdward Jones DomeDome
60 yardsChandler CatanzaroArizona Cardinals18–33Buffalo BillsSeptember 25, 2016Longest field goal in careerNew Era Field

Prior to Dempsey's 1970 kick, the longest field goal in NFL history was 56 yards, by Bert Rechichar of the Baltimore Colts A 55-yard field goal, achieved by a drop kick, was recorded by Paddy Driscoll in, and stood as the unofficial record until that point; some sources indicate a 54-yarder by Glenn Presnell in as the due to the inability to precisely verify Driscoll's kick.
In a pre-season NFL game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks on August 29, 2002, Ola Kimrin kicked a 65-yard field goal. However, because pre-season games are not counted toward official records, this accomplishment is not the official record.

CFL

All of the above kicks were successful with the use of a kicking tee, which was banned by the NCAA after the 1988 season.
The longest known drop-kicked field goal in college football was a 62-yard kick from Pat O'Dea, an Australian kicker who played on the Wisconsin Badgers football team. O'Dea's kick took place in a blizzard against Northwestern on November 15, 1898.

U Sports

The longest field goal in U Sports football history is 59 yards, by Niko Difonte of Calgary Dinos, playing against the UBC Thunderbirds on November 11, 2017. The field goal was the final and winning play of the 81st Hardy Cup.

High school

NFL

Field goal returns are rare in the NFL, since an attempt with sufficient distance that misses the uprights will automatically be dead. Returns are possible when a field goal is short, but in that case returners will usually down the ball so as to scrimmage from the spot of the kick. Normally, a return will only be attempted when there is not enough time left in the half to run a play from scrimmage. Nevertheless, four field goals have been returned for at least 107 yards in the 21st century :
Distance returnedReturnerTeamOpposing kickerOpposing teamDistance attemptedDateLocation
109 yardsAntonio CromartieSan Diego ChargersRyan LongwellMinnesota Vikings58 yardsNovember 4, 2007Metrodome
108 yardsDevin HesterChicago BearsJay FeelyNew York Giants52 yardsNovember 12, 2006Giants Stadium
108 yardsNathan VasherChicago BearsJoe NedneySan Francisco 49ers52 yardsNovember 13, 2005Soldier Field
107 yardsChris McAlisterBaltimore RavensJason ElamDenver Broncos57 yardsSeptember 30, 2002Ravens Stadium

CFL

Because the goalposts in Canadian football are on the goal line, and because downing the ball in the end zone results in the kicking team scoring a single point, field goal returns are much more common. The longest missed field goal return in the CFL is 131 total yards. Against the Montreal Alouettes on August 22, 1958, the Toronto Argonauts' Boyd Carter ran 15 yards, then threw a lateral to Dave Mann, who then returned it for the final 116 yards. This return, which started 21 yards behind the goal line, was during the era of 25-yard end zones and therefore cannot be met or exceeded on the modern field with 20-yard end zones. Since the shortening of the end zones in the CFL in 1986, a field goal has been returned for the maximum 129 yards on four occasions: by Bashir Levingston of the Toronto Argonauts on June 28, 2007, by Dominique Dorsey also of the Toronto Argonauts on August 2, 2007, by Tristan Jackson of the Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 14, 2012 and by Trent Guy of the Montreal Alouettes on September 23, 2012.

NCAA

In NCAA college football, only five missed field goals returns for touchdowns have ever been returned 100 yards or more:
In U Sports football, like in the CFL, the longest possible missed field goal return is 129 yards, and this has occurred three times.