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When will we see a 70-yard field goal? NFL kickers have gotten so good, it may be this year

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When will we see a 70-yard field goal? NFL kickers have gotten so good, it may be this year

Fifty is the new 30, and we’re not talking about age.

NFL kickers have improved significantly in recent years. It’s felt as obvious as ever this season, but the numbers have validated the eye test.

Through the first six weeks of the season, we have seen all-time highs in 50-plus-yard field-goal attempts (103), along with makes (77) and conversion rate (74.8 percent). Since 2019, kickers have nearly doubled their attempts from 50-plus (55) and tripled their makes (29) in the opening six weeks.

Looking at it another way, kickers are as good now from 50-plus as they were from any distance in a single season prior to 1993, which was the first season in history when teams cumulatively converted at least 75 percent of their field goals.

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60-yarders have become more weaponized, too. Since 1960, there have been 40 successful field goals of at least 60 yards. An astonishing 33 of those (82.5 percent) have occurred since 2009, and half have come since 2019.

Dialing up the long ball

1960-2018 2019-2024

60-plus FG att.

139

53

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60-plus FG makes

20

20

60-plus FG make %

14.4%

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38%

With one more 60-yard boot this season, it’ll be the fourth consecutive year with at least four such field goals. Before this stretch, the previous high in a single season was three in 2012, and there were only four other seasons with two total 60-yarders (2006, 2013, 2017, 2018).

John Carney, who kicked in the NFL from 1987-2010, opened Carney Coaching in California after his retirement to train specialists, so he has seen the kicking boom from two unique perspectives. He is adamant this is no fluke, and that kicking will continue to improve across the board.

“I’m excited to see where that’s going to go,” Carney said.

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who trains with Carney, has made three from 60-plus since December, including a 65-yarder in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens. Aubrey was prepared to attempt a 71-yarder in the regular-season opener against the Cleveland Browns before head coach Mike McCarthy changed his mind — drawing boos from Browns fans who wanted to see Aubrey shatter Justin Tucker’s 66-yard record. (It’s worth noting Aubrey hit a 66-yarder in a preseason game.)

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It’s still probably just a matter of time.

“At some point, someone is going to hit a 70-yarder,” said a longtime special teams coordinator, who was granted anonymity to speak freely on the intricacies of improved kicking.

There are myriad reasons behind the kicking explosion, from training to equipment and even networking. It’s why this trend is viewed as more of a launching point than the destination.

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Cowboys’ second-year kicker Brandon Aubrey performing on a ‘different level’


Carney, who retired with the third most points in league history, has had a firsthand look at NFL kicking for nearly four decades. After retirement, he still trained with longtime kicker Nick Folk and punter Steve Weatherford in his garage, but he decided to open a larger operation in a blue-collar, warehouse-style gym for high school, college and pro kickers. His NFL clientele has included Aubrey, Younghoe Koo, Tyler Bass and Jason Sanders, among others, so he has experience training some of the game’s best.

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The improvements at the position have started with coaching. There used to be minimal specialized coaches for amateur kickers, and the NFL devoted a fraction of the resources to the position. Now, athletes at all levels can find private coaches, offseason programs and camps as well as coaches like Carney who can keep them sharp year-round — whether they’re refining their mechanics or trying to stay in shape while circling the free-agent workout circuit.

And then there’s the technology. For starters, kickers can blast their workouts all over social media. That might sound mundane in this day and age, but it’s important for coaches — private, college or professional — who can watch a player with a click and determine whether he’s worth a longer look. That’s exponentially widened the available talent pool. And more specific to in-house tech, kickers have appreciated the chance to slow down the replays of their kicks, frame by frame, to understand where they can find technical improvements.

The individual equipment is wildly superior, too. Kickers used to wear cleats made from kangaroo leather, but they’ve since moved to synthetic leather that doesn’t stretch, feels more lightweight with more support and has a better lace pattern and with the traction to improve grip.

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The footballs themselves have also played an integral role. Since the NFL has allowed more time for teams to condition the K-balls — balls only used for kicking — before games, kickers have been able to specify them to their liking. It’s far more conducive to success than essentially pulling a new ball out of a plastic bag and hoping for the best.

“The product is finally at a condition and a state that it was intended to be at for kicking and punting, which is not to take away anything from these kickers,” Carney said. “These kickers and punters are sensational these days. I’m not saying they have a juiced ball so anybody can do this. That’s not it. These guys are phenomenal. But you’re not going to tell me a Morten Andersen, a (Sebastian) Janikowski or a Jason Hanson — with their leg strength, capability and talent — that they wouldn’t be bombing some of these balls, as well. The ball is a factor, 100 percent.”

These kickers also have networks of resources. First, the special teams coordinator said so many kickers have maintained close relationships that they can call or text each other before the season or a game to gain a better understanding of the elements and conditions at each stadium.

Second, there’s a coaching tree of sorts. If an NFL or college coach is looking for a kicker — recruit, transfer portal, draft, free-agent workout — they can contact a specialized trainer for a recommendation.

Carney has his established track record. Jamie Kohl, a private trainer and current consultant with the Carolina Panthers, has become one of the most reliable resources for coaches. For those looking for an Australian flavor, they surely know Nathan Chapman.

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Essentially, it’s become like any other successful business entity. If a coach trusts a trainer to provide an accurate assessment of a kicker, they’ll continue to return for more recommendations.

“It’s like buying something online,” the coordinator said.

Let’s not bypass the biggest factor in the kicking boom. Like any other position or major sport, players are far superior athletes nowadays.

Nowadays, trainers understand strength work extends far beyond squats and the bench press. Kickers need to work on explosiveness, balance, agility, mobility, flexibility and range of motion. Trainers like Carney ensure their athletes focus on exercises like jumping vertically, laterally and horizontally while mixing in enough plyometrics and hip flexors. Balance is also paramount to performance.

And there’s the recovery aspect. Carney laughed at the notion that they basically had a cold tank and a hot pool. Now, they’ve got compression booths, cryotherapy, float tanks, Theraguns and compression shorts that will increase post-workout circulation while flushing out lactic acids. Add targeted supplements and science-based diets, and athletes have a literal recipe to increasing production.

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“In the last 10 years, the amount of attention that goes to recovery has tripled compared to where I was at in the NFL,” Carney said. “These are all things that continue to evolve and push the athletes to new levels.”


Aubrey has quickly become the NFL’s newest sensation. He led the league with 36 field goals (on 38 attempts) last season as a rookie, and he’s off to an NFL-best 17-of-19 in 2024. Aubrey is 18-of-19 from 50-plus, including 8-of-9 this season.

He has an esteemed soccer background, playing at Notre Dame before a stint in the MLS. After a few years of training and a successful showing in the United States Football League combine, Aubrey got a shot with the Birmingham Stallions and parlayed it into a look with the Cowboys.

Both Carney and the special teams coordinator noted that it typically takes a few years for kickers to break into the NFL. There’s such a demand for consistency that someone like Aubrey would never crack into the league on skill alone.

But what about the soccer background? Can teams copycat the Aubrey strategy?

“He’s a special case, to be honest with you,” Carney said. “He’s not just your average soccer player, obviously pretty darn talented who was always known to have a very strong leg on the pitch. But there’s more to the equation. He became very passionate about football. He sought out good coaching. He was patient.

“He’s made a huge splash in the NFL. I’m excited for him. The NFL is excited for him, and it’s great to see. Sure enough, scouts are running to the nearest soccer field right now looking for the next Brandon Aubrey.”

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Aubrey isn’t a revelation in the soccer respect. The NFL used to conduct kicking camps in Europe a half century ago, drawing in soccer players like Garo Yepremian. Carney estimated 95 percent of current kickers have a background in soccer, even if they haven’t reached Aubrey’s level at Notre Dame or the MLS.

Tom Dempsey kicked a 63-yard field goal in 1970, and the record stood until Jason Elam tied it in 1998. But because Elam’s boot occurred in the Denver altitude, there was an unofficial asterisk on it.

Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski joined the club in 2011, but his kick also occurred in Denver. Matt Prater hit a 64-yarder in 2012, but that was another Rocky Mountain rocket. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, typically considered the most physically talented kicker of his generation, finally smashed the mark with a 66-yard boot in 2021 in Detroit.

For so long, 63 yards was the white whale. It felt like the magical number that couldn’t be surpassed.

Now, with kickers expanding their range at an unprecedented rate, it’s looking like Tucker’s mark is a placeholder. And it might not be more than a footnote shortly thereafter.

“I believe there are kickers right now,” Carney said, “who can make it from 70 if the conditions are right.”

(Photo of Brandon Aubrey: Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images)

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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The Green Bay Packers’ playoff exit on Saturday immediately put added focus on what the organization will do with head coach Matt LaFleur.

The NFL coaching cycle has been the wildest in recent memory, with veteran coaches like John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll being shown the door. Packers fans seemingly put LaFleur on the hot seat following their crushing defeat to the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the wild-card playoff game against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday that the Packers will have a major decision to make.

“The Green Bay Packers and their new president, Ed Policy, have a significant decision to make here in the coming days – and that is whether to extend Matt LaFleur’s contract. He’s currently got one year remaining, or to move on from him,” Schefter said. “If they moved on from him, he would automatically go near the top of coaches available and shakeup this current head-coaching cycle yet again.”

Schefter added that Harbaugh could be one of the names that would interest the Packers’ organization.

BEARS’ BEN JOHNSON GIVES FIERY MESSAGE TO TEAM AFTER PLAYOFF WIN: ‘F— THE PACKERS!’

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks after the playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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“Notice how we said this belongs to the Packers’ president, Ed Policy. Well, the Packers’ former president from the back in the day was a man by the name of Bob Harlan,” Schefter explained. “Bob Harlan’s son, Brian Harlan, represents John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is a Midwestern guy, who has a home in the Upper Peninsula, and a lot of people around the league have been wondering if the Packers decide to go in a different direction, if all of a sudden the Green Bay Packers might fall to the top of John Harbaugh’s list as the top available choice for him.

“This has been a wild, crazy coaching cycle, and we may be just scratching the surface.”

Green Bay Packers’ Matthew Golden celebrates his touchdown against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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Green Bay finished 9-7-1 this season. LaFleur is 76-40-1 as the Packers’ head coach with a 3-6 record in the playoffs.

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

For brothers Boone and Ford Casady, pickleball is more than just a game, it is a passion. The 16-year-old twins are among the top junior players on the planet, but more important to them than trophies and medals is a desire to spread the fastest-growing sport in America to high schools and colleges.

Their vision, combined with the persistence of fellow Crossroads sophomores Samantha Leeds and Hannah Carey, has birthed the L.A. High School Pickleball League, the first of its kind in California. The first match will be Jan. 24 at the Santa Monica Pickleball Center.

Teams from Crossroads, Brentwood, Windward, Palisades, Notre Dame and Santa Monica Pacifica Christian will participate, and possibly several more.

Matches will be biweekly with all schools competing at the same shared location. The match format is loosely based on high school tennis with three doubles lines, one singles line and “friendlies” — ensuring that beginners, alternates and developing players all get playing time. The season culminates with semifinals and a league championship.

“My brother and I grew up playing competitive tennis and baseball,” Boone said. “We’d been playing tennis since we were about 3 and in eighth grade we moved to Barcelona to train at the Emilio Sánchez Academy for tennis. We were first introduced to pickleball earlier while we were in Mexico playing with friends and we immediately fell in love with it. We entered our first tournament in Palm Springs and realized we’d found something special.

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“We noticed that so many juniors were training and competing individually but there wasn’t a school-based structure like you have in other varsity sports. We decided to change that. We wanted girls to be involved from the start — it was important to us that the league be coed and inclusive to reflect how competitive girls pickleball already is. We’re also co-founders of the Crossroads Pickleball Club along with Samantha and Hannah and we’re working to grow participation on campus and across L.A.”

The four founders of the L.A. High School Pickleball League play mixed doubles.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Unlike most youth sports initiatives, the league was not created by adults or administrators, it was built entirely by students. Over the last two years they have coordinated with the Southern Section for recognition and guidance, worked with Crossroads administrators to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport, organized early intramural and inter-school tournaments, built communication networks among local high schools and helped other schools begin turning their club teams into varsity programs.

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“In high school sports, students usually join a system that already exists,” Leeds said. “With pickleball, we had to build the system ourselves.”

Boone defeated Ford to earn the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Junior PPA National Championships, but they met again for the gold medal and this time Ford won. They also took the gold in doubles and finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the country in the 14s division.

At the 2025 Junior PPA National Championships, the brothers took silver and bronze in the Boys U16 singles and partnered for silver in doubles. They were also presented the Community Assist Award to acknowledge their initiative in starting the Los Angeles High School Pickleball League. They are straight-A students and play shortstop and third base on the varsity baseball team.

So far, their toughest competition in pickleball has been each other.

“Boone and I practice together all the time and we play against each other constantly,” Ford said. “Boone knows the part of my game to attack and I know what to do against him so we always have great matches. No matter who wins, we hug it out at the end.”

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The siblings played in their first pro event of the year Saturday — the Masters Tournament in Palm Springs.

Leeds and Carey were introduced to pickleball in eighth grade.

“I remember leaving PE after playing pickleball, heading to soccer practice and honestly feeling kind of bored,” Leeds recalled. “All I wanted to do was keep playing pickleball.”

“Samantha and I got randomly paired to do pickleball in PE,” said Carey, who lost her home in the Palisades fire. “Most kids would sit out, look bored, or try to skip but as the pickleball nets went up our peers were engaged, exhilarated and connecting over their love of pickleball. So Samantha and I started making petitions to create a league.”

The girls, then 13, had a meeting with Anthony Locke, head of school at Crossroads, and made a pitch deck. Using her skills as a filmmaker Leeds created a short sizzle video to help show what pickleball could look like as a real school sport.

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“We were told that forming school-based teams and leagues is a necessary first step towards eventual CIF recognition,” she said. “I created a Varsity Team Starter Kit, outlining the steps we used to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport. Leaders at other schools are actively using it to establish their own teams.”

Added Carey: “We connected with Boone and Ford, which was such an honor considering their talent and passion for the sport. We decided to join forces and use our resources together to further our process of creating a league.”

The inaugural season runs from January to March but beginning in the 2026-27 school year the plan is to move to the traditional winter sports window, November through January.

“Pickleball has the potential to become a true varsity sport at both the high school and college levels,” Boone said. “We’re so excited to help push it forward.”

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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U.S. figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history on Saturday with their record-setting seventh U.S. Figure Skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced a season-best free skate and finished with 228.87 points.

“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of United States perform during ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston, at TD Garden,  on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.  (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

They’ll be the heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.

“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”

U.S. Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the American squad for the upcoming Winter Games.

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The men’s medals also were to be decided on Saturday, though two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble mightily to miss out on a fourth consecutive title.

The U.S. also has qualified the maximum of three men’s spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the nationals podium.

The last time Chock and Bates competed in the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, they watched their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations.

Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals. 

It wasn’t until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, when Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists. 

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UN URGES COUNTRIES TO HONOR TRUCE DURING WINTER OLYMPICS, NOT DENY VISAS TO ANY NATION’S ATHLETES

Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in championship ice dance at the U.S. figure skating championships Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date.

Chock and Bates spoke about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media summit in October. 

“It’s hard to, I think, imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through and under that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is, being an elite athlete as an adult, as a 36-year-old. And I think that grace should be given to humans across the board. And we can never really know the full situation, at least from our point of view. … I genuinely don’t know what I would say to her.”

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Chock added, “I would just wish her well like as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we’re all human just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember we’re humans as a collective, and we’re all here for this, our one moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people to have healthy, happy lives, full of people that love them.”

Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally presented with them during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA perform in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Nagoya at IG Arena on December 07, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan.  (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou were given a specialized gold medal ceremony to receive the medals in front of more than 13,000 fans. 

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Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades in March when they defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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