It’s taken over two decades, but the New England Patriots have a kicking problem. Stephen Gostkowski missed his fourth extra point attempt of the season last Sunday against Buffalo and we are only four weeks into the season. Through the end of the 2015 regular season, Gostkowski missed only one extra point in ten years. It should be noted that 2015 is the first year the extra point was moved back, so make of that statistic what you wish, but from 2006-2015, he only missed once.
Of course, with news that Gostkowski will be placed on Injured Reserve, the Patriots’ kicking situation is going to be extremely different for the first time since 2006.
Since 2015
The real significance of 2015 for Gostkowski is the extra-point attempt he missed in the AFC Championship game in Denver. As a result, New England had to go for two in an attempt to force the game into overtime, as opposed to lining up for another extra point. Tom Brady never saw a wide-open Rob Gronkowski on the two-point attempt, and the Broncos went on the win the Super Bowl.
Gronk was wide open on the 2-pt try. Brady looked him off: pic.twitter.com/VCXheI6v24
— Cian (@Cianaf) January 24, 2016
Ever since that miss, Gostkowski has been noticeably more shaky, as if it’s an issue in his own head. The following season, he missed three extra points, then missed three over the next two years. He is already at four in 2019. Furthermore, while once incredibly clutch (for example, this 54-yard game-winner against the Giants that would have been good from what looks like 65 yards), since that miss in 2015, Gostkowski has missed an extra point in the Super Bowl against the Falcons, an extra point and field goal against the Eagles, and a field goal against the Rams.
Gostkowski injury
With the news that Gostkowski requires season-ending hip surgery and will be subsequently placed on IR, New England worked out kickers. The team brought in Kai Forbath, Mike Nugent, Elliott Fry, Blair Walsh, and Matthew Wright. The team has ultimately decided to go with Nugent.
This, of course, means Nugent is destined to kick a Super Bowl-winning field goal in February since he is a massive Jets’ draft bust and is now a Patriot.
New England’s kicking since 1996
Since 1996, New England has employed only three kickers; Adam Vinatieri, Shayne Graham, and Gostkowski. That’s it. That’s the entire list. The Chargers cycle through multiple kickers in single games sometimes.
There has been no lacking for highlights. Vinatieri kicked a game-winning field goal in the first two Super Bowl victories of the Patriots dynasty, and the NFL just ranked the Snow Bowl kick as the 18th best play league history:
Another classic moment in #Patriots history.
The 45-yard field goal that tied the Tuck Rule game came in at No. 18 on the #NFL100 Greatest Plays.
?: #NFL100 Greatest series continues Friday on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/ZBGm3aGYoE
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 24, 2019
However, when the Patriots take the field against Washington in Week 5, they will trot out a brand new kicker for the first time since 2010. Put another way, if a child was born the day before Gostkowski’s rookie debut, that child has seen the same Patriot’s kicker for 96% of more than 13 regular seasons, and that child is also now a teenager.
It’s understandable to roll your eyes at a New England article talking about an imperfect kicking situation after going from Vinatieri to Gostkowski and collecting six Lombardi trophies along the way, but this a significant development in the Patriots’ journey to repeating as Super Bowl champions.
Jonathan Rosenberg is a writer for PFN covering the AFC East. You can find him @frosted_takes on Twitter.