The NFL must have liked what it saw during its experiment moving back extra point tries during 2015, because it’s now made the rule change permanent.
Kickers already have it pretty rough. Not only do many fans view them as something less than “real” football players, they have many chances to be the goat and relatively few to be the hero. And thanks to the NFL, opportunities for the former are going to continue to increase going forward.
NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk reports that among the rules changes made during the league meetings in Florida is one to permanently move back extra points. The league’s Competition Committee agreed to make the one-year proposal from last season permanent, meaning all PAT kicks will now take place from the 15-yard line.
The idea behind the original proposal was two-fold. One was to add some unpredictability to the extra point, while the second part was to encourage more NFL teams to go for two, since those plays are still run from the 2-yard line. The first part definitely worked, with PFT noting that extra point accuracy dropped from 99.4 percent in 2014 to 94 percent last year, with kickers missing more 1-pointers collectively than they did in 2008-2014 combined.
Another temporary rule involving extra points was also extended at today’s meeting, as defensive players will continue to be able to return any missed conversion (meaning a blocked kick or a fumble or INT on a two-point conversion) for two points. Another rules change that will receive widespread attention — and praise, most likely — makes chop blocks illegal.
Whether fans really want to see kickers miss more PAT attempts is an open question. One thing’s for sure: Kickers don’t have it any easier, because nothing draws the wrath of the faithful like a missed extra point — and they’re going to keep getting missed in the seasons to come.