Joey Slye was inches short of an NFL record. Why the Panthers tried a 65-yard field goal
There were only two things the Panthers could do on fourth-and-19 from the Saints’ 47-yard line with 2 minutes left, down by 3 points.
Kick a 65-yard field goal or go for it.
Before the final drive of the Panthers’ 27-24 loss to the Saints, the Panthers’ offense had played well. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had thrown for 254 yards, thrown two touchdowns and completed 82% of his passes, and he helped put the Panthers in a position to win, despite the defense not providing much help.
But the coaching staff chose to kick the field goal and try to tie the game at 27-27. Had Slye made the kick, it would have been the longest field goal make in NFL history.
Slye has developed a reputation as a big-leg kicker in his two years in the NFL. He was 8 for of 11 on field-goal attempts of 50 yards or more in 2019, and hit a 59-yard field goal in a preseason game against the Steelers last year.
But not even his leg was strong enough to make this try inside the Superdome. He left it just short of the crossbar.
When asked why he chose to kick instead of going for it, Rhule said they had a better chance of making the field goal.
“It was fourth-and-(19). We don’t have a lot of those calls we feel good about,” Rhule said in reference to going to for it. “Obviously not ideal. We had the ball down at the 35. We took that sack. That sack was a fatal blow there.”
It’s unlikely the Panthers would have converted on fourth-and-19, but the chance of Slye making the field goal was also unlikely, even if he was close. No kicker has made a field goal longer than 64 yards.
Bridgewater, though, did not question the call. He insisted the decision to have Slye kick the field goal showed he had confidence in his players.
“Man, it’s a tough situation,” Bridgewater said. “I think if we had made it a more manageable down or distance, I think we probably would have went for it. I don’t know. But to see coach tell Joey to kick a 65-yard field goal, it shows he has complete confidence in his players.”
Slye also thought he could have made the kick. He said he made a 60-yard field goal in warm ups, and “smoked it.”
“I really wasn’t worried about missing short from 65,” he said. “Hit a pure ball and left it an inch short. But still a little frustrated in the fact I have the leg strength to hit further from that.”
One of his opponents was actually impressed.
Said Saints running back Alvin Kamara: “... it was a long field goal. I mean, kudos to him even though he missed it. He’s got a hell of a leg.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2020 at 6:04 PM.
