Earlier this season, Chris Boswell kicked a 60-yard game-winning field goal, but don’t expect that to open the floodgates for the Steelers’ comfort range. It depends on context, of course. If it’s the difference between winning a walk-off and attempting a desperate Hail Mary, that’s one thing. But special teams coordinator Danny Smith pushed back on questioning over the ideal that they’ll kick from anywhere.
“Eh, well, not really,” Smith said via the Steelers’ website when he was asked about 60-yard attempts becoming a new standard for Chris Boswell. “Game winners? Time running out? Yeah. But they’re not as automatically [as you might think]. … You have an operation: a snap, a hold, a kick and a time factor. So, it all depends on the scenario and the situation, to be honest with you. But we obviously love him. He’s a great player.”
The Steelers have only attempted three field goals of 60-plus yards with Boswell. The one he made earlier this season was his first successful attempt. With that said, that particular attempt probably would have been good from another five yards back. It’s not a matter of range, or at least, not exclusively.
When a team weighs attempting a field goal, the conversation is about risk versus reward. If you miss a field goal, the other team takes over with potentially very good field position. And if you’re missing 60-yard field goals, that’s definitely going to be the case. That’s why if you do attempt from distance, you’d rather it be at the end of a half.
Another complicating factor is angle. The longer a field goal attempt, the lower the angle of the ball. And the lower the angle of the ball, the better chance the opposing team has of blocking it. Chris Boswell had a kick blocked this past week.
Boswell is right in the thick of a new age of kickers who have redefined safe range. Before him, the Steelers were leery of attempting 50-yard field goals with Shaun Suisham. Whenever the distanced creeped past 49 yards, he seemed to push the ball left or right.
But 50-yard field goals are now the norm, and 60 is the new frontier. Yes, we saw a successful 70-yard field goal in the preseason, but there’s a reason we barely ever see those in games that count. Game-winning circumstances are always a different animal, of course, because everything is on the line. Unless it’s tied, it doesn’t even matter if the other team blocks it or returns it for a touchdown.
But in all other circumstances, there has to be a very careful balance in the decision-making process. Yes, Chris Boswell showed he has the leg and accuracy to make 60-yard field goals. But don’t expect every drive that stalls around the 43-yard line to end in a field goal attempt. Danny Smith only seems crazy, but he isn’t.
Recommended for you