A deep field goal attempt during the last seconds of regulation can leave everyone watching and holding their breaths.
And while NFL kickers are nailing longer field goals than ever before, a shot surpassing 60 yards is still a rare – and remarkable – achievement.
In fact, no one – not even a Hall of Fame kicker – has come close to the 70-yard mark (unless you count Texas college football legend Ove Johansson’s 69-yard kick with Abilene Christian in 1976).
We’ve delved into the history books to explore which special teams savants have kicked the longest field goals in NFL history.
1. 66 yards – Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens (2021)
Tucker’s 66-yard field goal is the longest in NFL history. It was blasted as time was expiring and giving the Ravens a 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions. At the time of the kick, he had made 49 straight field goals, and he finished the season missing only two of his 37 attempts. And the hyper-accurate placekicker converted on all six of his 50+ yard attempts that year. It’s no shock then that Tucker also holds the record for the highest career field goal percentage at 90.5%.
2. 64 yards – Matt Prater, Denver Broncos (2013)
Prater’s 64-yard attempt is the second longest in the rankings, breaking a record that had stood for over 40 years. In one of the last games of the ’13 season – when Peyton Manning was still running the offense – Prater drilled his shot just before halftime. Perhaps it was his kick that ignited the team, as they beat the Tennessee Titans 51-28 after being down one to close out the second quarter. Even more impressive is that Prater holds the record for most 50+ yard field goals – the only kicker to exceed 70.
T-3. 63 yards –Brett Maher, Dallas Cowboys (2019)
In his second year in the NFL, Maher punched through a 63-yard conversion – just a week after he drove in one from 62 yards. Maher kicked the field goal to end the first half, helping the Cowboys take a 27-7 lead over the New York Jets. Ironically enough, Maher had also launched his first 62-yard field goal (during his rookie season!) against them the previous year.
T-3. 63 yards –Graham Gano, Carolina Panthers (2018)
During the first 10 years of his career, Gano was unable to cross the 60-yard threshold. That changed in the 2018 season. After New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw a 15-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute left in regulation, the Panthers were down 31-30. And with one second on the clock, Gano drilled a 63-yard attempt – one that just barely snuck through the uprights after it took an extreme curve – and won the game for the Panthers.
T-3. 63 yards –David Akers, San Francisco 49ers (2012)
In his two-year stint with the 49ers, Akers converted his attempt in the first game of the 2012 regular season. With just under a minute left before halftime, he nailed a kick from 43 yards away. And after San Francisco gained possession once again, he hit a 63-yard field goal as time expired to go up 16-7 against the Green Bay Packers. The lefty kicker’s shot bounced off the crossbars – and shockingly went through.
T-3. 63 yards –Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders (2011)
Janikowski’s 63-yard attempt came just two years after he converted on a kick from 61 yards away. And like Akers, this record-tying shot took place in the first game of the NFL season. After kicking two routine field goals in the second quarter, Janikowski lined up from 63 yards away and punched it through to give the Raiders a 16-3 lead over the Broncos.
T-3. 63 yards –Jason Elam, Denver Broncos (1998)
The two-time Super Bowl champion put his name in the record books by joining the 63-yarder club in a mid-season game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It had been 30 years since someone connected on a 63-yard attempt in the NFL. As time was expiring in the second quarter, he nailed the kick and helped give the Broncos a 27-10 advantage in the Mile High City.
T-3. 63 yards –Tom Dempsey, New Orleans Saints (1970)
Dempsey once held the record for longest field goal in NFL history as the first to make a 60-yard attempt (Bret Rechicar of the Colts held the previous record at 56 yards). The legend was an anomaly, born without toes on his right foot, kicking in an era where the goalposts were placed in the middle of the end zone. And with the Saints down 17-16 to the Detroit Lions late in the fourth quarter, Dempsey drilled the 63-yarder and won the game.
- T-9. 62 yards – Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs (2022)
- T-9. 62 yards – Matt Prater, Arizona Cardinals (2021)
- T-9. 62 yards – Brett Maher, Dallas Cowboys (2019)
- T-9. 62 yards – Brett Maher, Dallas Cowboys (2018)
- T-9. 62 yards – Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots (2017)
- T-9. 62 yards – Matt Bryant, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2006)
Longest Field Goals in Playoff History
- T-1. 58 yards –Graham Gano, Carolina Panthers (2018)
- T-1. 58 yards –Pete Stoyanovich, Miami Dolphins (1991)
Longest Field Goals in Super Bowl History
- 57 yards – Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs (2024)
- 55 yards – Jake Moody, San Francisco 49ers (2024)
- 54 yards – Steve Christie, Buffalo Bills (1994)
- 53 yards – Greg Zuerlein, Los Angeles Rams (2019)
