Image via Complex Original
It hasn't been a good week for kickers. Actually, when has it ever been? They don't really get any credit when they're accurate, and when they screw up, everyone jumps down their throats. Such was the case this week for Stanford freshman Jordan Williamson, who missed three field goals (including two game-winners) in Stanford's Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State. If that wasn't enough, Virginia Tech's third stringer Justin Myer, missed a potential game-winner in OT and had another blocked in the Hokies' Sugar Bowl loss to Michigan last night.
But those young'ns aren't the first and will certainly not be the last kickers to feel the wrath of angry fans. From the kicks that kept Boise State out of national championship contention in back-to-back seasons to the reason why Scott Norwood is (or should be) in the Witness Protection Program, here are the 20 Worst Missed Field Goals of All Time.
20. Ndamukong Suh Is Only Good at Kicking People
Date: 10/7/2010
Game and Outcome: New York Jets 23, Detroit Lions 20 (OT)
Before you get all fussy, we should tell you that Suh kicking the field goal is not the fail in itself. The Lions knew what they were doing, and so did Suh. He had been practicing all season, and Jim Schwartz was quoted saying that the rookie defensive tackle was the Lions' legitimate backup kicker. Still, it was hilarious watching a man that large attempting an extra point, and in a way, costing them an overtime loss to the Jets.
19. Chiefs Try To Get A Little Too Fancy
Date: 11/6/2011
Game and Outcome: Miami Dolphins 31, Kansas City Chiefs 3
Believe it or not, Kansas City started this year 4-3. At that point, the Chiefs had scored at least 23 points in four straight games and things were looking up. Then they hit a shocking brick wall called the Miami Dolphins. Trying to get anything going, the Chiefs made a sad attempt at a fake field goal, leaving punter Dustin Colquitt looking like a complete idiot. It's the Chiefs, though, so is it really that surprising?
18. Antonio Cromartie Turns FG Miss Into Longest Play in NFL History
Date: 11/4/2007
Game and Outcome: Minnesota Vikings 35, San Diego Chargers 17
Usually, a pick-six is reserved for the times when a quarterback gets his pass picked off and returned for a touchdown. Then on the rarest of occasions, there comes a moment when a coach calls on his kicker to attempt a field goal well out of his range and to add insult to injury, the missed kick gets returned for a 109-yard TD. We'll just call that a deep-six. Going deep on them hoes? Yeah, your boy Antonio Cromartie knows all about that. Pause.
17. Garo's Gaffe
Date: 1/14/1973
Game and Outcome: Super Bowl XVII: Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7
There's a reason why kickers are specialists and rarely allowed into any other facets of the game. Garo Yepremian found this out the hard way at Super bowl XVII. While attempting a field goal with about two minutes remaining, Garo had his kicked blocked then tried to live out his dreams of becoming the star QB rather than the forgotten kicker. The result was one of the worst pass attempts in NFL history and an interception returned for a TD by cornerback Mike Bass. And to think, had this fail happened just a bit earlier in the game, maybe we wouldn't have to hear from annoying ass Mercury Morris every year.
16. Wide Right II
Date: 10/3/1992
Game and Outcome: Miami Hurricanes 19, Florida State Seminoles 16
Less than a year after Wide Right I (more on that later), the Seminoles were once again in a position to stick it to their rivals via a field goal (though this attempt was a potential game-tying kick rather than a game-winner). Dan Mowrey's 39-yard field goal would've sent the game into overtime and had national championship implications. But Seminole fans had seen this flick already once before.
15. Jason Garrett Ices His Own Kicker
Date: 12/4/2011
Game and Outcome: Arizona Cardinals 19, Dallas Cowboys 13 (OT)
With the Cowboys out of the playoffs, everyone can now point fingers at the idiotic call by coach Jason Garrett to ice his own kicker and subsequently cost his team the victory against Arizona. But as much as we replay this (and other) terrible regular season fails, it probably still doesn't compare to how many times this moment shows up in Garrett's nightmares. Have a fun off-season, Jason!
14. Blair Walsh May Need a Hug
Date: 1/2/2012
Game and Outcome: Outback Bowl: Michigan State 33, Georgia 30
With a Hail Mary win already under their belt in the 2011 season, the Spartans were no strangers to breaking people's hearts in close games. But crushing the hopes of Georgia fans and kicker Blair Walsh was just cold-blooded. Homie had already missed a potential 42-yard game-winner in the first OT before they swatted his dreams again in the third overtime. Good news is he's a senior, so after this school year, he can leave campus for good and drift into the lonely anonymous lifestyle of most former college kickers.
13. Giant Snap Fail
Date: 1/5/2003
Game and Outcome: NFC Wild Card Playoffs: San Francisco 49ers 39, New York Giants 38
More important than the kicker making good contact with the ball is making sure you have a good snap. A bad snap offsets everything from the the placekicker's timing, to making sure the holder gets the ball in the right place. Such was the case here for the New York Giants, who signed 41-year-old Trey Junkin out of retirement less than a week before the game. The result? Exactly what you think would happen when you sign a guy in his 40s named Trey Junkin to do such a job. Junkin had already botched on snap in the fourth quarter which caused Matt Bryant to miss and his failed snap in OT didn't even give him a chance. What happens next either can be called a fail by the refs, the Niners, or Giants. Maybe all three.
12. Jay F***in Feely
Date: 11/27/2005
Game and Outcome: Seattle Seahawks 24, New York Giants 21
Kicker Jay Feely had the opportunity to hit the game-winning field goals three times and just couldn't get it done. We're pretty sure that after the second miss, he realized he wasn't feeling it and the whole "you'll get 'em next time" phrase was just a touchy-feely subject. Ya feel us? Soundtrack, please! OK, OK, we'll stop.
11. Dan Goodale Kills Boise State's BCS Dreams
Date: 11/12/2011
Game and Outcome: TCU Horned Frogs 36, Boise State Broncos 35
All Boise State and its high-powered offense has ever wanted was the respect of BCS voters and a chance to play in the National Championship. The way things were headed, it looked like there was going to be another controversy about whether or not going undefeated with an easy schedule makes a difference. Instead, the Broncos fate was decided at the foot of a kicker that had a season-long of 32 yards. With seconds remaining, Dan Goodale pushed the game-winner, snapping a 35-game home winning streak, a 65-game home regular season winning streak, and a ending a conference home win streak that dated back to 1998.
10. Wide Right I
Date: 11/16/1991
Game and Outcome: Miami Hurricanes 17, Florida State Seminoles 16
You know that asshole friend who always beats you in Madden and won't let you forget about it till you play again? Well, the Miami Hurricanes of the late '80s and early '90s are those guys. Florida State kicker Gerry Thomas was 3 for 3 on the day when he lined up for 34-yard potential game-winner. Funny thing is, prior to the season, the NCAA changed their rules and narrowed the uprights of the goal post by about five feet. #whatcouldvebeen
9. River City Fail*
Date: 12/21/2003
Game and Outcome: Jacksonville Jaguars 20, New Orleans Saints 19
The Saints were in the middle of a Wild Card race against the Cowboys and the Seahawks when John Carney did the unthinkable. He shattered the hopes and dreams of an entire state immediately following one of the greatest-last second touchdowns in history. The Saints radio play-by-play man, Jim Henderson sounded like he'd just seen his dog shot. And rightfully so, Carney's one of the greatest kickers of all time. What a way to lose a game.
*Not a field goal, yes. That's actually the only reason this isn't No. 1.
8. Tony Romo Bobbles the Snap
Date: 1/6/2007
Game and Outcome: NFC Wild Card Playoff: Seattle Seahawks 21, Dallas Cowboys 20
This was the play that began Tony Romo's long and storied history in the media. Naturally, it was for a horrible reason, giving NFL fans plenty of fuel for the hate fire. Down one with 1:19 left, the Cowboys were set to win the NFC Wild Card in dramatic fashion. Instead, the drama went the other way when Romo, then the backup QB, couldn't hold on to the snap, ran for the open endzone, and came up short. We're pretty sure Bill Parcells got in that ass after the game. Ayo!
7. Vanderjacked Up
Date: 1/15/2006
Game and Outcome: AFC Divisional Playoffs: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Indianapolis Colts 18
For a majority of Mike Vanderjagt's Colts career, he was as reliable as any other kicker in NFL history. But then there was that 2006 AFC Divisional Game against the Steelers. With Indianapolis down 21-18 in the 4th quarter, Vanderjagt was asked to hit a game-tying 46-yard field goal. Not a big issue when you consider that he had never missed a field goal attempt at home before. Then again, there's a first time for everything and it couldn't have happened a worse time. Nowadays, the mere mention of his name gets immediately turned into "Vandershank." Teammates forgive, fans don't.
6. Nate Kaeding Goes 0 for 3
Date: 1/17/2010
Game and Outcome: AFC Divisional Playoffs: New York Jets 17, San Diego Chargers 14
Every kicker misses one or two crucial kicks in their career but how about three on the same day? In a game where one would've been the difference and sent his team deeper into the playoffs Kaeding missed from 37, 40, and 57 yards. Whoever said "third time's the charm" clearly never met Mr. Kaeding.
5. Kicker is Stanford's Bad Luck Charm
Date: 1/2/2012
Game and Outcome: Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State Cowboys 41, Stanford Cardinal 38 (OT)
The above clip is only one-third of this story. Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed not one, not two, but THREE field goals, the second of which could have won the game, and the third of which could have given Stanford the lead in overtime. Instead, Andrew Luck ended his career with a crushing loss, and Oklahoma State was able to maintain their case that Alabama never should have been in the 'ship. This is the type of game that will mess a kid's ego up for life.
4. Bill Gramatica's Kick Is Good But Celebration is All Bad
Date: 12/15/2001
Game and Outcome: New York Giants 17, Arizona Cardinals 13
Kickers rarely get much shine. Hell, their relevancy is proven in this clip when the commentator erroneously calls Bill Gramatica, Martin. So, when Bill's 43-yard kick in the first half of a regular season game against the Giants was good he couldn't help but rejoice. But his leap of joy soon turned into agonizing pain as he tore his ACL. One of the worst sports celebration fails of all time? No doubt, son.
3. Boise State's Kyle Brotzman Becomes Infamous
Date: 11/26/2010
Game and Outcome: Nevada Wolf Pack 34, Boise State Broncos 31
During their 2010 season, Boise State went 12-1. That one loss in Week 11 is all thanks to Broncos kicker Kyle Brotzman, who missed an easy 26-yard field goal and sent the game into overtime where the Wolf Pack ended up pulling out the W. Most points scored by a kicker in NCAA Division I history? FOH, son. Dude will always be remembered as the reason the Broncos played in the Maaco Bowl rather than a BCS bowl or national championship game that season.
2. Gary Anderson Costs the Vikings a Trip to the Super Bowl
Date: 1/9/1999
Game and Outcome: NFC Championship: Atlanta Falcons 30, Minnesota Vikings 27 (OT)
After a 1998 regular season in which he went a perfect 35 for 35, Minnesota's Gary Anderson was asked to make one more important field goal that would send them to Super Bowl XXXIII. But much to everyone's surprise, the kick sailed wide left. You know that feeling when people will remember the one big thing you did wrong over the million things you did right? Take that to the tenth power and you may begin to feel how Anderson felt. Just slightly.
1. Norwood's Buffalo Blues
Date: 1/27/1991
Game and Outcome: Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19
In one of the biggest NFL playoff fails of all time, Scott Allan Norwood missed the field goal that would've won the Bills the Super Bowl. Yes, it was from 47 yards out but that doesn't change the fact that the name Scott Norwood is and will forever synonymous with kicker fails. Word is crazy folks up state still have money on his head. We kid. Though we wouldn't be surprised...
