FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have long held the belief that 2023 first-team All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey’s field goal range “It’s almost unlimited.” So they put that to the test in Week 15 at the Carolina Panthers.
Aubrey scored a 65-yard field goal in Week 3 in a home, indoor game at AT&T Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens, and that marked the longest goal in Cowboys history, as well as the second-longest in NFL history. The longest record in history is a 66-yard pass by Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, which was made indoors with the Detroit Lions, and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy decided to give Aubrey the chance. to break that record Sunday outdoors in Charlotte. With three seconds left in the first half and Dallas clinging to a 10-7 lead, Aubrey lined up for a 70-yard kick. The kick may have been wide or a little short, but that will never be clear after he hooked the attempt incredibly wide to the left.
“I wish we were in,” McCarthy said Monday. “I wish he would have had a real chance to do it. I was really scared when the returner caught the ball because I’d been on the other side of that before, in 2005 in Chicago, if you want to look it up. Right. Before the half. Last play of the half, he earned that chance. He does it regularly. He’s so impressive with his consistency from that distance, so obviously he was confident he could do it a little bit nervous at the end because the wind, it wasn’t enough. to make a decision about the direction in the fourth quarter. There was a little more wind to our left, which would have been from the south than from the north, but hey, we gave it a shot.”
They considered the wind to be a factor, but McCarthy and special teams coordinator John “Bones” Fassel essentially said YOLO and let Aubrey attempt the kick.
“Right at the end of the half, we really wanted to get as close to 50 as possible, and we were right about 50. So we said if we get anywhere in that part of the woods, we’re going to give it a good shot,” Fassel said on Monday. “We knew we were going against the wind in that direction, but we said at the end of the half that the worst that could happen is [they] Put a returner back there and we have to cover. So we followed it.”
The trajectory of the ball on Aubrey’s foot was harder and much lower than what normally occurs when using his typical mechanics, which dates back to his days as a professional soccer player in the MLS.
“[Aubrey’s] The approach was a little different. “You see it on tape, he took a little step and just tried to push it,” Fassel said. “So it probably looked like a corner kick because it probably deflected toward the center to the left. It was brief and we covered it. … We knew it was a shot that had to be taken, probably the percentages were a little low, but at that time moment [end of the] Half the game, that’s what we did. It was good and I think the boys appreciated the opportunity. “I know Brandon did.”
The Cowboys don’t practice the 70-yard dash, but Aubrey naturally altered his mechanics to adjust to the distance.
“He didn’t do it intentionally [change his mechanics]. It just got a little deeper,” Fassel said. … “What happened with his feet was basically pure instinct. “It’s just part of the deal with him, which is good.”
Many of Aubrey’s attempts from 50+ yards can look good from closer to 70, as Aubrey’s 21 attempts from 50 yards or more are the most in the entire NFL since Aubrey entered the league in 2023. With A different wind situation may not have altered your approach at all.
“I think I’m probably even speculating, but up to the 65 yards he made, I think it can all feel and be the same operation, swing and rhythm,” Fassel said. “Seventy yards into the wind, that was different, and it was going to take more. What he did was extra. I feel like that wind could have been…if we had gone the other direction, I think that would have given us a lead of five to seven yards, and I think it would have been right over the crossbar if you had it between the posts. But going in that direction was going to be a little bit more difficult maybe he’ll stick with his normal deal, just a little bit more, a slightly lower trajectory”.
McCarthy feels the worst-case scenario when attempting a kick longer than 65 yards is the possibility of an opponent returning a botched kick. That possibility especially haunts McCarthy because, as San Francisco’s offensive coordinator in 2005, he witnessed a missed 52-yard field goal into the Chicago wind by then-kicker Joe Nedney that led to a 108-yard return touchdown. for Nathan Vasher and the Bears in a 17-9 victory over McCarthy’s 49ers. Panthers returner Deven Thompkins caught Aubrey’s mistake Sunday six yards deep in the end zone and ran 37 yards to the Carolina 31 late in the first half.
“Honestly, maybe once every two weeks, we’ll run through coverage with our field goal team,” Fassel said. “We showed it on tape at the field goal meetings… This was the first time we actually had a live one. The best player [to make a tackle] it would probably be [defensive end] Chauncey [Golston] …I think they enjoyed it [covering a kick]. [Left guard] “Tyler Smith got caught on a little stutter and went through his returner, so we’ll have a little fun with that on the field Thursday.”
Fassel sees it a little differently because, in his opinion, the chaos of a blocked field goal is greater than that of a miss that is caught deep and then returned.
“I think in that case I would be more concerned about the kick being blocked,” Fassel said. “He’s going to come out low and block, you never know who’s going to end up with the ball in his hands. That was really the first concern.”
However, Sunday’s ruling won’t stop the Cowboys from preventing Aubrey from trying again from 70 yards. They may simply give more credit to the elements, whether outside or inside, because they feel the wind greatly influences the outcome. Two of Dallas’ final three regular-season games in 2024 will be at AT&T Stadium (Week 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Week 18 against the Washington Commanders), while Week 17 will take place at the Philadelphia Eagles, who have an outdoor stadium. .
“I think the guys on the bench were excited to see what was going to happen, especially the special teams guys. So if we get back in that position, I’m sure we’ll try again, given the conditions, whether it’s at outdoors in Philadelphia or after that,” Fassel said. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s 70.”
