Through two weeks, the 2024 NFL season is turning into the year of the kicker.
Collectively, the NFL's 32 kickers have been so good this year from long range that coaches have been much more willing to send out their kicker for a long-distance field goal attempt. Through the first two weeks of the season, kickers have combined to hit 35 of 39 field goals (89.7%) from 50 yards or longer, which is the highest accuracy rate ever through two weeks.
The crazy thing about that stat is that the most accurate kicker in NFL history, Justin Tucker, is responsible for two of those four misses.
The fact that kickers are hitting this many field goals from long range is unprecedented. As recently as 2006, there were only 40 field goals from 50 yards or longer for the ENTIRE SEASON. This year, the NFL's 32 kickers have almost passed that number in just two weeks. In 2006, kickers hit just 47.1% of their attempts from 50 yards or long, which tells you how much more accurate players have gotten at the position.
Due to the onslaught of long range field goals, teams have been attempting kicks at a higher rate, which has set up an unprecedented start to the NFL season: Through the first two weeks of the season, there have been more field goals (141) than touchdowns, which marks the first time that's ever happened. There have been 136 touchdowns this year with 128 of those coming on the offensive side of the ball and eight coming on defense or special teams. If that trend continues, we'll see another NFL first because there has NEVER been a season in league history where there have been more field goals than touchdowns.
Before 2010, it was pretty common to see coaches call for a punt instead of sending out their kicker out for a field goal of 55 yards or longer, but they've been more than happy to try those long kicks this year. There have been 11 field goal attempts of 55 or longer this year with kickers hitting nine of them (81.8%). And once again, to put that in perspective, there were only eight attempts of 55 yards or longer during the ENTIRE 2006 season with kickers only hitting 25% of those.
The explosion of long kicks has been led by Houston's Kaʻimi Fairbairn, who has six field goals of 50 yards or more through the first two weeks. That number is the NFL record for the most field goals of 50 yards or longer in a two-game span.
In Week 1, Fairbairn and Chris Boswell both hit three field goals from 50 yards or longer, marking the first time in NFL history that multiple kickers accomplished that feat in the same week.
When it comes to long range field goals, the game has changed. Kickers are now more accurate and because of that, coaches are now more trusting. For instance, we saw Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy send out Brandon Aubrey for a 66-yard attempt in Week 1.
Although Aubrey made the kick to tie Justin Tucker's all-time record for longest field goal, the Cowboys kicker won't be going in the record book because the play got called back due to a delay of game.
It won't be surprising at all if Aubrey eventually breaks the record for longest field goal and it won't be surprising at all if this group of NFL kickers ends the 2024 season as the most accurate from long range in league history.