New rules for NFL kicking balls lead to more points on the scoreboard

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00:00We gave up a 65-yard field goal and a 58-yard field goal.

00:06These kicking balls that they changed this year have drastically changed the kicking game,

00:13field goals in particular. So it's almost like they need an asterisk here.

00:18Long-time NFL defensive coordinator Vic Fangio wanted the Philadelphia media to know

00:23he's changing the way he coaches, all because of new rules that allow kickers

00:28more time to prepare the balls they use during games.

00:35Fangio wasn't asked about the long field goals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit on Sunday against his Eagles.

00:41He offered up the commentary on his own and compared the big kicks that have become more common in the NFL this season

00:47to the late 90s steroid era in Major League Baseball.

00:51It was the live ball era or the asterisk for those home runs bonds and Sosa and McGuire were hitting.

01:00You know, the way they've changed the ball, the NFL, the kicking ball, has drastically changed the field goals.

01:08There have been 16 kicks of 55 yards or more in just the first four weeks of the 2025 season,

01:15according to the database TeamRankings.com.

01:19There were 28 kicks of 55 yards or longer all of last season, and 22 made during the 2023 season.

01:27The NFL record for the longest made field goal is 66 yards by former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.

01:34The new rules prohibit NFL teams from changing the ball's dimensions, material, or how it's inflated.

01:42But Fangio says the fact that kickers and team equipment personnel can inspect, rub down,

01:48and practice with the game balls during the week has made all the difference.

01:52Now the balls are in-house all week, and they kick those balls that they've had, and nobody else touches them.

01:59I mean, the guy in Dallas is going to hit a 70-plus yarder this year. You can just book it.

02:04Fangio's referring to Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey, who kicked a 65-yarder last year,

02:09the longest outdoor field goal in NFL history.

02:12That was tied by Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin against the Eagles on Sunday.

02:18Michael Clay, Philly's special teams coordinator, also confirmed the new procedures used by his kickers.

02:24We just get to work on it a little bit longer than we used to.

02:27We used to only have an hour, now we get the whole week to fill it in,

02:30and the kickers get to pick what ball they feel pretty good about.

02:35And, you know, you only get, I think, six balls.

02:37You know, if you lose one of them and one gets scuffed up and the NFL deems it's not playable,

02:42then it's out, you're down to five.

02:44So you just got to make sure those balls are primed and ready to go come Sunday.

02:49When asked if the impact of the new rules was good for the game, Clay responded with a smile.

02:54Didn't the NFL want more points? There it is.

02:58For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.