It has been noticeable this NFL season that kickers are giving away more extra points week after week. Comparing the rate to years past, kickers haven’t been as bad in the NFL in a long time as they were in 2021.

Munich – For many NFL fans it is actually just obligatory – the extra point. After every touchdown, if you don’t try a “two-point conversion”, teams can add another point to their score with a kick from 33 yards.

But this season, a conspicuous number of these supposedly simple “points after touchdown” are being missed. Only 92.5 per cent of all extra points find their way between the poles in 2021. Since the “PAT” was moved back 13 yards in 2015, the rate has never been so bad.

What is striking here is that kickers have been steadily getting worse since 2018. Three years ago, the hit rate was 94.3 percent.

1979 lousy kicker rate from the two-yard line

Comparing the value with NFL history, you have to look very far back to find even weaker performances: In 1979, kickers hit only 91.5 percent of all extra points – and that even though they only had to go from the two-yard line.

This season, there are only five teams – the Baltimore Ravens, the Atlanta Falcons, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants – that have converted every “PAT” so far. The Houston Texans have the worst record in the league with just 76.5 per cent of extra points hit.

The kicker dilemma is leading more coaches to attempt a “two-point conversion” after a touchdown. Since 2019, the value here has increased step by step: two years ago, coaches opted for the “two-point conversion” in eight per cent of all touchdowns, in 2021 the value is eleven per cent.