National Football League

Report: NFL could push extra point back to 15-yard line

Published Mar. 30, 2015 3:24 p.m. ET

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By Steve DelVecchio

The extra point has been a popular topic of discussion for the NFL this offseason. Simply put, teams hardly ever miss extra points. For that reason, the league has been exploring ways of making the PAT less of a formality and more of a challenge.

A resolution could be close.

According to Peter King of The MMQB, 30 of 32 NFL teams said at the owners meetings in Arizona last week that they would like the PAT format to change. The issue is the proposals are reportedly “all over the map,” but King highlighted the direction the league appears to be headed.

-Teams will have a choice whether to go for one or two points after a touchdown, from different distances.

-If the offensive team chooses to kick for one point, the scrimmage line will move from the 2-yard-line to the 15-yard line, making it a 32- or 33-yard attempt.

-If the offensive team chooses to go for two points, the scrimmage line will be either the 1-and-a half- or 2-yard line. There was much debate about making it the 1, the 1-and-a-half or the 2. The feeling about putting it on the 1 was that it could turn into too much of a scrum/push-the-pile play, or a fluky puncture-the-goal-line-with-the-ball-and-bring-it-back play by the quarterback. Putting it at the 1-and-a-half or leaving it at the 2 would increase the chances of a real football play with some drama.

-The defensive team would be able to score two points by either blocking the PAT and returning it downfield to the end zone, or by intercepting the two-point attempt and running it back, or recovering a fumble on the two-point play and returning it all the way.

As Deadspin notes, NFL kickers historically convert slightly over 90 percent of their 32-yard field goals. Extra points, on the other hand, have a 99.6 percent success rate. In fact, 15 NFL teams have not missed a single extra point attempt this decade.

If 30 of 32 NFL teams want a change, something has to give. The obvious goal is to make PATs more meaningful by giving teams an incentive to attempt a two-point conversion. That would, in theory, lead to more drama and critical decision making. Pete Carroll doesn’t need any more of that, as we know. Perhaps he’s one of the two coaches that likes things just the way they are.

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