Blocked field goals, 70-yard threats and chaotic kickoffs, the foot is back in football | NFL

VIC Fangio, the cunning defensive coordinator of the Eagles of Philadelphia, was very proud to see his defense forces a third incompletion on Sunday, leaving the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay 47 meters from the Eagles goal line with only four seconds to play in the first half.

In the past, this could have led to a Mary’s hail passage in the goals area. But instead, the Bucs Chase McLaughlin Bucs botter trotted on the ground and calmly completed a basket of 65 yards across the super heated Florida sky, tied for the second longer in the history of the NFL.

McLaughlin then launched a basket of 58 yards to put the BUCs eight points behind with 12 minutes in the match. Philadelphia would escape with a victory of 31-25, but Fangio fingered a culprit: the designated kick balls, or “K” balls, that each team is allowed to prepare for use in the games.

“During the years past,” said Fangio at a press conference on Tuesday, “officials would rub them or other people would rub them, and play you with them. Now, the balls are internal all week and they were bothered these balls they had, and no one else touched them.”

Referring to the brilliant cowboys kicker, Brandon Aubrey, Fangio said: “Dallas’ guy will hit a Yer over 70 this year.

The NFL seems to have (successfully) put its foot in American football more. With several rules of rules in recent years, the game of special NFL teams has become a considerably more important factor in determining the game result. It is considered a good thing.

“The NFL wants more points? There are there,” said Michael Clay, the coach of the special teams of the Eagles on Tuesday.

These new axes kick-off training could still seem artificial (the President of the United States himself said that they are “bad for the football game”), but, with the even more modified rules this year, they have greatly resulted in more action. The teams on average 23.4 points per game, second higher in history.

During four weeks, by reference to professional football, NFL teams are on average 103.2 yards in kick -off returns per game, the highest ever four times The average of 24.9 yards per team in 2023, after which the NFL modified its entire kick -off procedure. Only 16.5% of kicks in 2025 led to touchbacks, compared to 73% in 2023.

In particular, the league encourages kicks falling into an “landing zone” which extends 20 meters from the goal line. Consequently, kicks are skillfully placed, much more like boots of circle. There was a time when the kickers simply launched the kicks for the goals for the Touchbacks – but this now leads the ball placed on the 35 yards line.

A week earlier, in a 33-26 victory on the Rams of Los Angeles, the Eagles had serious problems that folded the wobbly kick-off, scrambled and bouncing by Joshua Cary, the second-year Rams botter, with five Philadelphia training sessions from or inside the 20 yards line.

But kickers cannot just launch bullets on the ground to their opponents and hope the bobbles. The kicks must first hit the surface or be taken, inside this landing area. After the Cardinals of Arizona equaled last Thursday’s match against the Seattle Seahawks with 28 seconds to play, Chad Ryland pierced a kick -off which landed a meter from the landing area.

The penalty was severe: the Seahawks obtained the ball at 40, less than 20 meters outside the Kicker Jason Myers range. After a pass of 22 yards and a race of 4 yards, Myers – which had earned a trial of 53 yards earlier – pierced an attempt by 52 to give Seattle a 23-20 victory.

When asked during his post-match press conference, what Ryland was trying to accomplish, Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon said: “Continue playing it. This is one of the things we are talking about late in the game there with the dead time, time, what they need on the line. We were trying to burn a while there. ”

The more alive kicks seem to have detected the rest of the game kicks. There were 16 clearances of clearance, goals on the ground and additional points already this year. Dallas blocked an additional attempt on Sunday in an equality of 40-40 with Green Bay, with the defensive back of the Cowboys Markquese Bell returning the 80 Yards balloon for security, or two points for Dallas. It was only the 10th time that has occurred since its first authorization in 2015.

Josh Blackwell blocked the Goal’s attempt from 54 yards by Daniel Carlson with 33 seconds to play to allow the Chicago Bears to hang on for a 25-24 victory against Las Vegas. A week after blocked two goals on the field against the Rams – the second of which could have won the match for Los Angeles, but led to a touch of the Eagles at the end – Philadelphia blocked a shot of clearance against Tampa Bay and returned it for an early TD.

Meanwhile, the veteran of the Eagles, Jake Elliott, continued to pin Tampa Bay deeply with skilful ships inside the landing area. Tampa Bay began six trips after kicking 22 yards to the average line. His first kick -off fell into the landing area and rolled in the goal area for a touchdown. Under these conditions, the BUCs had to start from their 20 yards line.

“Jake does incredible job trying to perfect everything he does,” said Clay. Whether it’s a goal in the field, whether it is kick -off, a lot of work goes in terms of backstage. We went there, I know it was raining last Wednesday, but we were always able to get out and have an idea of ​​that. Then I am very confident. That’s all I needed to implement it, but it is also a good change.

“The launch team has done a very good job so far in the first four weeks of coverage. Anyway in which we could obtain the starting point of the defense inside the 25 during the kick -off is good enough for us, so we will simply try to continue, try to continue to improve. Just because of the kick, we must continue to work on our technique and the fundamental principles of a starting point.”

To restrict these collisions at full speed and at full speed, the cover teams for the so-called range of “dynamic kick-off” on the 40 yards line of the reception team, 25 meters in front of the botter. Until now, a single kick-off has been returned for a touchdown, by Antonio Gibson from New England.

Due to the new kick -off training, a losing team must declare its intention to try a kick, which removes the surprise factor (although the reception team has a fairly good idea of ​​what comes). Only two kicks next to it have been recovered so far in 2025.

Overall, however, the kick game was revitalized. Even additional points, an attempted 33 yards since 2015, are not gimmies, with a success rate of 95.9%, against 99.3% in 2014. But, hey, the NFL can always tinker these rules during the offseason.