In a 14-year NFL career, Raiders K Sebastian Janikowski has made 454 out of 457 extra point attempts – a 99.3% mark which still puts him outside the top 20 of current kickers because of how east the 20-yard kick is.
A 20-yard FG is considered the easiest of chip shots for professional FG kickers – which is part of the reason the kick is considered an almost automatic point. But the NFL is working on changing that.
In the past 15 years there have been over 50 field goal kickers with a point after touchdown (PAT) percentage of more than 95%. 7 of which have a perfect accuracy on the PAT. In an attempt to make the PAT more competitive and add more strategy to the play, the NFL is experimenting with the PAT for the duration of the preseason.
During the 2014 preseason, all PATs will be attempted from the 15-yard line – increasing the distance from the equivalent a 20-yard FG to a 33-yard FG. While the increase is does not in any way guarantee a major drop in accuracy for kickers, it will serve as a way for the NFL to determine who far they need to push back the line to make the PAT more challenging.
The first game with this new PAT rule will begin at the Hall of Fame game between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.
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