OAKLAND, Calif. – Adam Vinatieri has made plenty of tougher kicks in his career. The two last-second field goals to win Super Bowls, a 45-yarder through the snow to win a playoff game and 46 field goals from at least 50 yards in the regular season and postseason.
Vinatieri's 25-yarder at the end of the second quarter in Indianapolis' 42-28 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday will surely be one he never forgets.
With that kick, he passed Hall of Famer Morten Andersen to become the NFL's all-time leading scorer. He added three extra points in the fourth quarter to give him 2,550 points for his career — six more than Andersen.
"I never thought I'd play that long," said Vinatieri, a 45-year-old South Dakota native. "I never thought I'd be standing here talking to you guys about all-time records. But I love my teammates — all of them — for the last 20-something years, unselfishly going out there and helping me do my job. A lot of great memories along the way. I think that's the best part about this day — less the record and more that we got the record in a win."
Vinatieri entered the NFL in 1996 as an undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State. He won the job with New England his first season and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl.
Now in his 23rd season, Vinatieri wasn't sure the record would come this week, after he reinjured his right groin last week. He was limited in practice this week but was healthy enough to play the game.
He made an extra point and a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter to tie Andersen's record before hitting the kick at the end of the half that made him No. 1 by himself.
"I played against him back in 2007, when he was in Atlanta, and it might have been about his last year and I just thought, 'Man, this is unbelievable. This is a record that will never be touched,' " Vinatieri said. "He's done it so long for so many years and so prolifically, that you know I just thought, man, it's untouchable. But I guess as you keep going and you just stack years upon years, the numbers start stacking up."
