Season of the kicker unravels with missed field goal sending Ravens home and Steelers to playoffs

Wouldn't you know it? The season of the kicker came down to a missed kick.

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell hadn't missed an extra point all season until Ravens safety Kevon Johnson got a hand on the PAT after Aaron Rodgers threw a 26-yard touchdown pass with 55 seconds left Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens in a win-or-go-home final regular-season game.

That blocked extra point, which the NFL this week officially changed from a missed PAT, left the Steelers clinging to a 26-24 lead and when Lamar Jackson connected with Isaiah Likely for a 26-yard gain on fourth-and-7 from the 50-yard line, it looked as if Rodgers would be missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

He sat on the Steelers bench looking forlorn as Jackson took the next snap and shuffled toward the right hashmark to set up rookie kicker Tyler Loop for the potential 44-yard game-winner.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh — who parted ways with the team on Tuesday after 18 seasons in Baltimore, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press — called timeout with 2 seconds left and Loop trotted out to send the Ravens into the playoffs and end the Steelers season.

He hadn't missed inside of 50 yards all season.

The snap was good, the hold was good but Loop didn't kick the ball cleanly. He said he knew as soon as it came off his foot funny that he'd pushed it to the right.

''It was a close kick,'' said Harbaugh, who put his arm around Loop as they walked off the field and into the tunnel afterward. ''We wanted to center the ball. We wanted to make sure we got the (chance to) kick. We didn't want something bad to happen on the run. I don't think that was a bad decision.''

Field goals of 40- to 50-yards are now considered short kicks. Fifty-plus is medium.

Sixty-plus tries used to be unheard of. Not anymore.

Kickers have enjoyed unprecedented success with long-distance field goals of 60 or more yards the past two seasons thanks to rule changes favoring the specialists, such as the new K-ball, and more trust from coaches, leading to game strategy shifts and historic accuracy.

Jacksonville kicker Cam Little kicked the two longest field goals in NFL history this season, nailing a 68-yarder at Las Vegas in Week 9 and splitting the uprights with a 67-yarder Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz said the tweaks in the kickoff rules in 2025 allowed kickers to save their legs by not having to blast every kickoff out of the back of the end zone as they used to. That, in turn, has allowed them to have more oomph on field goal attempts in the fourth quarter or overtime.

''Anytime your body feels better it helps,'' said Lutz, whose five game-winning field goals helped the Broncos (14-3) earn the top seed in the AFC playoffs and the first-round bye that goes with it. ''Yeah, you feel fresher, you feel good, feel strong. I would say most kicker injuries probably came from full-speed kickoffs and you're not seeing that.''

Loop had plenty of length Sunday night, it's just that he didn't kick the ball as he had on all the other 29 field-goal attempts he'd made from inside 50 yards this season.

''The operation was great,'' Loop said in the sullen locker room afterward. "It was a great situation, exactly what we wanted. And unfortunately, I just mis-hit the ball. We call it ‘hitting it thin,' it spins fast and goes off to the right.

''I love this team and I love these guys. I wish it would have ended different."

Behind the Call analyzes the biggest decisions in the NFL during the season.

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