This season, 152 NFL games were decided by one possession, the second most this millennium. Those small margins loomed large all season -- could you imagine if the Bengals went 7-4 in one-score games instead of 4-7? -- and they will loom even larger in the playoffs, where small margins not only lose games, but end seasons.
Kickers take on outsized importance when each point gained or lost is magnified, and this season, overall, was a mixed bag for the position as a whole and for the kickers who are postseason-bound. Here's how the 14 remaining stack up:
Tier 1: It's not close
1. Chris Boswell, Steelers
- 2024 season: 41/44 (93%) on FG, 13/15 (87%) from 50+, 35/35 (100%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 17/17 (100%) on FG, 17/19 on XP
Boswell not only deserves the title of best kicker in the playoffs, but perhaps best kicker in the NFL. He led the league in field goals and field goal percentage, and that 93.2% was the best by a player who kicked at least 40 field goals in a season since 2017. Boswell was excellent from deep and even better from short: His only miss inside 50 yards was blocked, and he didn't miss a single extra point. Boswell has kicked through the elements and big games. He's never missed in the playoffs. This is an easy pick.
Tier 2: Excellent and/or experienced ... and an unlikely youngster
2. Brandon McManus, Packers
- 2024 season: 20/21 (95%) on FG, 3/3 (100%) from 50+, 30/30 (100%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 10/10 (100%) on FG, 2/2 (100%) from 50+, 3/3 (100%) on XP
Kickers of McManus' pedigree are rarely available deep into the regular season. However, McManus was released by the Commanders in June after he was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit, and he remained a free agent for the early part of the season. Then, in late September, the NFL announced McManus would not face discipline after it found insufficient evidence to support a violation of the personal conduct policy. In late October, with Brayden Narveson struggling, Green Bay signed McManus, who said the lawsuit was "resolved."
McManus has been nothing short of excellent, with just one missed field goal (in tough conditions at that). McManus has made his last 15 field goals, including a go-ahead 55-yarder late Sunday against the Bears. McManus has a Super Bowl ring from his time with the 2015 Broncos, too, and his postseason resume is impeccable.
3. Cameron Dicker, Chargers
- 2024 season: 39/42 (93%) on FG, 9/11 (82%) from 50+, 33/36 (92%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 3/4 (75%) on FG, 1/1 (100%) from 50+, 3/3 (100%) on XP
When he's not making hilarious fake advertisements, Dicker is busy being among the NFL's very best. He missed just three times all year and just once inside 50. Plus, his 9-for-11 mark from 50+ is third-best among playoff kickers, behind only Boswell and McManus. Is Dicker helped by playing half his games in ideal conditions in Southern California? Sure. But he's also a perfect 6-for-6 in two career games in 40 degrees or colder, and he's guaranteed perfect conditions in the wild-card game against the Texans anyway.
4. Chase McLaughlin, Buccaneers
- 2024 season: 30/32 (94%) on FG, 8/10 (80%) on 50+, 54/56 (96%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 4/5 (80%) on FG, 1/2 (50%) from 50+, 5/5 (100%) on XP
The well-traveled McLaughlin turned in a terrific 2024 regular season that featured a career best in field goal percentage. His only misses were from 55 yards, and one of those two hit the goalpost. He also made a game-tying 51 yarder amid hectic conditions against the Panthers in early January. McLaughlin kicked for three teams in 2019 and two more in 2020 before struggling in 2021 with the Browns. But he found his footing in 2022 with the Colts and has thrived in two seasons in Tampa Bay.
5. Wil Lutz, Broncos
- 2024 season: 31/34 (91%) on FG, 5/7 (71%) from 50+, 46/46 (100%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 11/15 (73%) on FG, 1/4 (25%) from 50+, 18/18 (100%) on XP
Welcome back to the playoffs, Mr. Lutz! The longtime Saints kicker followed Sean Payton to Denver in 2023 and has performed well for the Broncos, whose Mile High home provides boosts in terms of distance but can present some tricky weather conditions. Lutz's field goal percentage was his best since 2018, and his 46 extra points without a miss this were the most in the NFL. Plus, four of Lutz's five makes from 50+ were away from home this year, so the leg strength very much travels. Lutz's playoff struggles give us slight pause, but they're from so long ago that they don't hurt his ranking too much.
6. Harrison Butker, Chiefs
- 2024 season: 21/25 (84%) on FG, 2/5 (40%) from 50+, 29/31 (94%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 32/36 (89%) on FG, 6/7 (86%) from 50+, 62/65 (95%) on XP
Butker was one of the toughest evaluations on this list. Like pretty much every significant Chiefs player in the Patrick Mahomes era, he has plenty of clutch playoff moments on his resume, including a perfect 6-for-6 mark on game-tying or game-winning field goals within the last minute of the fourth quarter or in overtime. He forced overtime in last year's Super Bowl, won the Super Bowl two years ago (two weeks after winning the AFC Championship game) and, of course, made the field goal that forced overtime against the Bills in one of the craziest games in NFL history.
That, however, has not been the Butker we've seen this year, especially after his return from a knee injury. He missed a 51-yard field goal in Week 18 and an extra point the week before. His 2-for-5 performance from 50+ on the season as a whole is a surprise, too. Still, only Adam Vinatieri, Stephen Gostkowski and David Akers have made more playoff field goals than Butker, and that alone is a big enough boost for him to warrant a solid ranking.
7. Jake Bates, Lions
- 2024 season: 26/29 (90%) on FG, 6/8 (75%) from 50+, 64/67 (96%) on XP
- Career playoffs: N/A
Can you see "From Brick Salesman to Super Bowl Hero" as the next blockbuster movie? Maybe not, but the story could play out in real life. Bates' college career went from soccer player at Central Arkansas to kickoff specialist at Texas State and Arkansas. He never kicked a college field goal. Then he went to the USFL, where he made three field goals from 60+, including a league-record 64-yarder.
Now we're here. Bates came through in multiple game-winning situations, including the game-tying and game-winning kicks from 50+ in one quarter against the Texans. The leg strength is outstanding, and we can't hold his low field goal total against him considering Dan Campbell's fourth-down aggression. Still, Bates has never kicked in the playoffs. Even the slowest heart rates rise in the postseason. Bates making this portion of the list as a rookie is impressive, and he can add to his legend in the weeks to come.
8. Ka'imi Fairbairn, Texans
- 2024 season: 36/42 (86%) on FG, 13/16 (82%) from 50+, 34/36 (94%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 5/7 (71%) on FG, 1/2 (50%) from 50+, 12/12 (100%) on XP
After a strong start to the season, Fairbairn hit a bump midseason, missing four field goals in a four-game span from Weeks 9-12. He hasn't missed a field goal since, but he did miss extra points in Weeks 16 and 18. That, combined with two misses from inside 30 yards, is concerning. After hitting 95% of his field goals in 2022 and 2023 combined, Fairbairn dropped all the way to 86%. He still has solid numbers from deep, but the short misses are a concern.
Tier 3: The Justin Tucker conundrum
9. Justin Tucker, Ravens
- 2024 season: 22/30 (73%) on FG, 6/11 (55%) from 50+, 60/62 (97%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 18/22 (82%) on FG, 3/5 (60%) from 50+, 34/34 (100%) on XP
You could certainly argue this is far too high for Tucker, whose field goal percentage ranked 36th out of 44 players who attempted at least one field goal this year. Tucker missed at least one kick in all five of Baltimore's losses this year, which becomes doubly painful considering all five of those losses were by a single possession. He missed two field goals in a two-point loss to the Steelers and two more field goals and an extra point in a five-point loss to the Eagles. The long-distance struggles, which began in 2022, have continued, but perhaps the bigger concern is he went just 5-for-8 (63%) from 40-49 yards. He hadn't been below 80% on those kicks since his rookie year.
Tucker has kicked the ball better recently -- he's made every kick over the past month -- and his playoff ledger is solid if not spectacular. Ninth out of 14 is nothing to brag about, though, and Baltimore hopes his issues are figured out. Seven of his eight misses this year have been wide left.
10. Jake Elliott, Eagles
- 2024 season: 28/36 (78%) on FG, 1/7 (14%) from 50+, 47/48 (98%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 16/16 (100%) on FG, 1/1 (100%) from 50+, 23/25 (92%) on XP
Yes, there's more than just Justin Tucker in the Justin Tucker tier. Elliott also presents a conundrum. He's 1-for-7 from 50+. That's tied with 2006 Neil Rackers for the worst season this millennium (min. 5 attempts from 50+). When you're going back nearly two decades to find comparisons, that's bad.
However, Elliott is also 16-for-16 in his playoff career. Only Robbie Gould (29), Evan McPherson (19) and Boswell (17) have more makes without a miss in postseason history. Like Tucker, you can argue past performance and name recognition are doing some heavy lifting here.
Tier 4: Reason to worry
11. Will Reichard, Vikings
- 2024 season: 24/30 (80%) on FG, 8/11 (73%) from 50+, 38/38 (100%) on XP
- Career playoffs: N/A
Reichard made each of the first 14 field goals of his NFL career. He is just 10 for 16 since, and that includes an IR stint with a quad injury. Reichard has missed at least one kick in three of his five games since returning from the injury and three kicks in the last two games. The rookie has plenty of big-game experience from his time at Alabama, but "struggling rookie coming back from injury" isn't an inspiring set of words to describe a playoff kicker.
12. Tyler Bass, Bills
- 2024 season: 24/29 (83%) FG, 4/4 (100%) from 50+, 59/64 (92%) on XP
- Career playoffs: 12/17 (71%) on FG, 3/3 (100%) from 50+, 26/29 (90%) on XP
Bass has generally been a decent kicker in the regular season. This year, he nailed all four of his kicks from 50+, which was great, but he also missed a league-high five extra points and missed five field goal attempts from inside 50 yards, tied for second-most. So it was more up and down than usual. Unfortunately, Bass already knows the ups and downs of the playoffs, too. Last year, he went just 2-for-5 on extra points, including -- Bills fans, cover your eyes -- wide right on a potential game-tying kick against the Chiefs.
13. Joshua Karty, Rams
- 2024 season: 29/34 (85%) on FG, 6/7 (86%) from 50+, 32/36 (89%) on XP
- Career playoffs: N/A
Karty hasn't missed a field goal since before Thanksgiving, but he has missed two extra points over that span and four extra points overall this season. The rookie has also missed four kicks from inside 50 yards. Overall, the Rams finished 27th in the NFL on expected points added on kicks, meaning Karty converted at a well below-expected rate considering the situations from which he kicked. In Vikings-Rams, the two uneven rookie kickers could play a major factor.
14. Zane Gonzalez, Commanders
- 2024 season: 5/7 (71%) on FG, 0/1 (0%) from 50+, 19/19 (100%) on XP
- Career playoffs: N/A
Gonzalez is the fourth Commanders kicker this season, and his field goal percentage ranks 38th out of 44 kickers with at least one attempt. Washington has been one of the most aggressive fourth-down teams this season, and perhaps the kicking struggles across the board have been a reason why. Gonzalez has made all of his 19 extra point attempts, so that's a positive.
