Acme Packing Company
It may not go down as the play of the year, but Lucas Havrisik’s 61-yard field goal is definitely one of the most unlikely.
As recently as two weeks ago, Havrisik’s kicking career had stalled and his substitute teaching career had yet to take off. Now he’s a freshly minted Packers record holder, having booted the longest field goal in team history during the Packers 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Field goals from 60 or more yards aren’t nearly as rare as they used to be. The NFL’s relaxed rules on kicking balls have made attempts from the 50-yard range a practical walk in the park; kickers no longer need a gargantuan leg to connect from half a field away, and the 60-yard range is consequently a lot more accessible as well.
But in Packers history, Havrisik still stands alone. He’s not only the first Packers player to connect from 60-plus yards, he may be the first ever to attempt a field goal from that distance.
Pro Football Reference only has play-by-play data going back to 1978, but in that span, they only have evidence of one kick of 60 or more yards being attempted by a Green Bay kicker: Mason Crosby’s 69-yard attempt in 2008.
However, Crosby’s mammoth attempt (which sadly came up just short) technically wasn’t a field goal attempt — it was a free kick. Or, even more technically, it was a fair catch kick, as explained by Article 4 (Putting Ball In Play After Fair Catch) of Section 2 (“Fair Catch) of the NFL Rulebook:
After a fair catch is made or is awarded as the result of fair catch interference, the receiving team has the option of putting the ball in play by a snap or fair catch kick (drop kick or place kick without a tee) from the spot of the catch or succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties
Fascinating reading, the NFL Rulebook. You should give it a look sometime. There are all sorts of little nuggets in there you can use to impress your friends, such as the circumstances in which holding is legal, legal guidelines for players’ undershirts, and the tolerance of error in the width of the painted lines on the field (one quarter inch, if you’re wondering).
Anyhow, since Crosby’s kick technically wasn’t a field goal, that means Havrisik stands alone in Packers history as not just the only kicker to make a 60-plus yard field goal, but the only one, as far as we can tell, to even attempt a field goal from that distance.
And what a kick it was. Havrisik had room to spare on the boot; it might have been good from 63 or 64 yards, had that been what the situation required. And that’s despite the fact that Havrisik wasn’t really feeling it when he lined up for the kick, saying his “body didn’t feel great” on gameday.
“I didn’t have a great pregame, if I’m being honest,” Havrisik [said postgame,...
