Last night it looked like the kicker did his normal setup for a field goal, he didn’t try to get any extra steps. So given the 57 yard range he decided on the accuracy of the 3 step run up instead of trying get extra range with a longer run.
I am quite sure I’ve seen happen a time or two this year. Before he got hurt, Harrison Butker of the Chiefs did this in a game this season when he was kicking with the wind. At least, that’s what my memory tells me.
I have a hazy childhood recollection, from the mid-late '70s, of the Packers having a defensive lineman do kickoffs when their kicker was dealing with an injury, and the lineman putting one through the uprights, but I can’t vouch for the accuracy of it.
The oddsmakers would beg to disagree with you. As I noted upthread, the Bills are indeed favored to win the SB.
As in the stock market, past performance does not guarantee future results.
I should live in Missouri because my philosophy at this point is, “Show me.”
I’m pulling for the Bills to make the Super Bowl, but the fact is that the Walrus and Mahomes know how to win and finish, but Josh Allen and the Bills have yet to do so. If they screw the pooch again this year, I’ll have to say they are the Dak Prescott and Dallas Cowboys of the AFC.
This is certainly true. It’s also true that the Bills are favored to win the Super Bowl.
One of my favourite random NFL plays was Matt Prater hitting the crossbar with a kickoff, and having the ball roll to exactly the 20 yard line to set up for the next play 
The Broncos could have clinched a playoff spot last night with a win over the Chargers. Instead, they fell to 9-6 with 2 games to play, tied with the Chargers. The Colts, Dolphins, and Bengals are all 6-8 and still alive in the hunt.
The Bengals play the Browns this week, Denver next week, and then close with a game against the Steelers. IF the Bengals win all 3 games (a big if), then Denver would need to win their last game against the Chiefs to get into the playoffs. The Chiefs may or may not need to win that game to get the #1 seed.
This assumes that the Chargers will win one of their last two games. Chargers play the Patriots and Raiders.
OTOH, if the Bengals, Colts, and Fins all lose this weekend, then the AFC playoff teams will be set.
Here’s a handy link to the Playoff Machine by ESPN.
I would watch that, assuming it’s either a sitcom, buddy cop film, or wacky scifi space opera.
To change the subject back to a previous discussion in this thread, for kickoffs going through the uprights, I see it often enough that it isn’t even remarkable anymore.
Alas, they would then have had to substitute a kicking ball for a scrimmage ball.
Yes, you’re correct, alas. But that kick was from the 35, so it does show that a 75-yard fair catch kick FG may be possible, although maybe only in Denver.
O lord, there are different footballs for kicking and throwing? Which one is used in a fake field goal attempt?
A kicking one natch. This happened around the year 2000 note, and may be one reason why both field goal accuracy and punt distances have taken off since then.
Yes, as of 1999. Prior to that, kickers and punters had become infamous for their techniques for loosening up the footballs which were to be used in a game (storing them in a sauna, temporarily overinflating them, bouncing them on tables, etc.). A broken-in ball is less slick, a little softer, a little rounder, and is generally a bit easier to kick.
Starting in 1999, the NFL mandated that “K balls” are used for kicking plays (field goals, extra points, punts, kickoffs). K balls are specially marked, are brand-new at the start of the game, and are tightly controlled during the game.
The primary reason for the introduction of the K ball was that kickers were becoming more accurate, and punters were able to punt the ball increasingly higher and further. The league was concerned that the kicking game was becoming too dominant, and wanted to rein things in (i.e., do a bit to discourage field goal attempts, and encourage more touchdowns).
However, in the 25 years since its institution, those trends have simply continued: kickers and punters are more accurate, more effective, and can kick further than they ever have been before. That’s largely attributable to better training techniques, and better sports medicine.
So the choice of football is made by the team in possession?
Nope. Both teams use the same balls, placed into play (theoretically randomly) by the officials.
K balls are used on any play that is setting up to be a kicking play (so a fake field goal or a fake punt would have a K ball). The “regular” balls are used on every other play.
Note: it appears I got one thing wrong in my previous post. This cite says that, of the six K balls in a game, one team uses one set of three (even numbers), and the other uses the other set of three (odd numbers).
If you look closely, you can see that the kicking balls are brownish orange because they’re brand new, but the balls used in the rest of the game are much darker brown because they’ve been extensively prepped by the teams.
Only on kicking plays of course. Each team has their own balls that are prepped as the QB likes and used when they’re on offense, apart from kicking plays.
And while the kickers (and long snappers) dislike the brand new K balls for their slickness, the receivers hate them just as much, they’re particularly difficult to field and hold onto.
Well, today I learned something. I stand corrected.
I thought deflategate made that general knowledge among football fans, TBH.
I had, honestly, thought that, in the wake of Deflategate, teams were given less control over the game balls (beyond the K balls). Apparently, I was mistaken.