NFL 2025: Gauging the Ramifications of the 70-Yard Field Goal

• The Jaguars’ Cam Little kicked a 70-yard field goal in their preseason loss to the Steelers
• It is not an NFL record because it happened in preseason, but the sheer reality of the kick is causing aftershocks
• If kickers can hit from that distance, it fundamentally changes the game
• Fans need to consider how it might affect their projections regarding the score and which team will win, among other factors

Preseason or Not, a 70-Yard Field Goal Is Crazy

At the end of the first half of the Jaguars-Steelers game in Jacksonville with Pittsburgh leading 14-6, the Jags’ second-year kicker Cam Little lined up for a 70-yard field goal.

Since there was no time on the clock, the only danger to the Jags was if the Steelers stationed a player in the end zone for the inevitable short kick and he ran it back for a score. In a preseason game, rookie head coach Liam Coen said, “Why not?”

But then…

Little hit from 70 yards.

The novelty makes it interesting enough, but there are ramifications for those who analyze games, assess point spreads, and consider which team will come out on top.

Is It Legit?

There’s no way of knowing if the NFL perhaps put a specially designed ball in play to drum up some interest in preseason when fans are paying half-attention at best. It’s certainly possible for a league that is as well-versed in marketing as the NFL to do such a thing.

As a rookie, Little’s career-long field goal was 59 yards. In college at Arkansas, his long was 57 yards.

Both are a significant distance away from 70.

Remember, the ball went through with plenty of room to spare. The officials were not standing under the uprights, craning their necks to make sure it was good. It might have been good from 73 yards.

Justin Tucker, formerly of the Ravens, holds the regular season record with a 66-yard kick, and that one bounced off the crossbar and went over.

Little surpassed that by four yards. It happened, but that doesn’t mean it’s likely in the regular season.

Don’t Forget the Coaches

Most coaches will not be sending kickers in to go for 70-yard field goals with regularity. This is especially true with Brandon Staley no longer a head coach, given his predisposition to do things that are…questionable.

If a coach tries it at any point other than the end of a half or the end of a game, the odds remain minuscule that the kicker will make the kick. Then the opponent gets the ball well within range of scoring a touchdown and easily within range of kicking a field goal of their own.

Still, this puts the idea on the table not just as a joke, but as a real attempt to get three points.

When analyzing games, it adds a new wrinkle. And it should not be dismissed out of hand as ridiculous because there’s video evidence that it happened, preseason or not.

Longer Field Goals Will Be Factored in With Wagering Lines

There are several kickers with a leg strong enough to hit from long distance. The days of the field goal or extra point being an adventure with a straight-ahead kicker putting every ounce of his hips and buttocks into the boot are over. So too are the days when the kicker was a European former soccer player likely to be mistaken for a ball boy.

Kickers are big and well-trained in the art of using their leg like a golf club and blasting the ball as far and deep as they can. That distance is now in the 65-yard range without it being miraculous if he hits. The 70-yard field goal is now a possibility that must be accounted for when deciding how to bet.

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