Could a Four-Point Field Goal Revolutionize the NFL’s Spring League and Change the Game Forever?

Change is Good? It Seems So

Most NFL teams, sadly, lack a Brandon Aubrey. But you can imagine how this system would inject a fun bit of chaos into the game for all sorts of teams.

Consider a mostly forgettable 2019 Week 4 game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High, where the higher altitude makes it perhaps the NFL’s most favorable environment for long field goals. Trailing by three with 10 minutes left and facing a 4th-and-8 at Jacksonville’s 42, the Broncos opted to punt rather than bring out kicker Brandon McManus for a 60-yard try. In a four-point world, such an attempt would’ve been for the Broncos to take the lead.

Instead, coach Vic Fangio elected for a punt. The Jaguars then took the ball on a long field goal drive to bump their lead to six. Denver answered with a thrilling, Joe Flacco-led touchdown drive to go up by a point with 1:32 left, before the defense again let the Broncos down. Josh Lambo won it for Jacksonville on a 33-yard kick as time expired.

Imagine now, if a 60-yard field goal was worth four points. McManus, who made a 61-yarder at the end of the 2021 season, may well have gotten a shot to put Denver ahead 21-20. Instead, the Broncos punted and wound up losing by two points.

That’s not to say a four-point try would’ve resulted in a better conclusion than the thrilling one that game produced anyway. But it is to ask a reasonable question: Would NFL coaches take more leaps of faith with their kickers if there were a better reward on the table?

The UFL already suggests the answer is yes.

Jake Coyne of Stats Perform’s U.S. Data Insights contributed research to this story. For more coverage, follow on social media at Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.

The post What If the NFL Added Another Spring League Kicking Rule: Four-Point Field Goals appeared first on Opta Analyst.

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