Being a kicker in the National Football League is a grueling task. When the game comes down to a 30 yard field goal and you miss it (ahem, Zach Hocker of the New Orleans Saints in week four), you’re instantly hated by the team’s fans. Being a kicker requires you to be able to kick a ball through the uprights, but it also requires mental toughness and being able to brush off a bad game. However, if the problems continue to occur, you’re out of a job within the snap of a head coach’s fingers.

    That happened to multiple NFL kickers already this year, and we are only going into week five. Josh Scobee (Pittsburgh), Kai Forbath (Washington), and Kyle Brindza (Tampa Bay) are now all out of jobs due to poor performances. The ability to kick field goals is not the only reason for these releases. The new extra point rule has been an enormous reason as to why these kickers, and quite possibly a few others in the future, have lost their jobs.

        The new rule, which is in its first year of existence, has the extra point now being snapped at the 15 yard line, making it a 33 yard extra point attempt. That’s a significant jump from the former extra point, which was a 20 yard attempt. The new attempt has had some success with some kickers, like Stephen Gostkowski from the New England Patriots, who has made all 14 of his extra point attempts, and Nick Folk of the New York Jets, who has made 15 of 15 attempts.

       However, what used to be seen as the “bathroom break for NFL fans” is now a moment of intensity. While you’re clutching the bag of potato chips, you’re being tormented by the wait of if the ball will go through the uprights or not. If field goals weren’t already stressful enough, 30 NFL owners decided to vote and make the extra point even more intense.

     As of the end of week four, the NFL has kickers making only 285 out of 322 extra points. That’s 88%, which is significantly worse than past years. In the span of the past three NFL seasons, 17 extra points have been missed. However, after week four of only this season, 17 extra points have already been missed. The kicker who has the worse percentage in missed extra points is Houston Texan’s kicker Randy Bullock, who has missed six out of eight attempts and holds a percentage of 75.

     Many people are asking if the new extra point is a good thing. I personally believe that it is a great idea and a good incorporation into the game. It’s a great test for the kickers of the NFL, who were so automatic with the pervious distance. Am I unhappy with the Josh Scobee four missed field goals and one missed extra point? Absolutely I am, and I was certainly happy to see him go and instantly replaced with Chris Boswell. However, I’d rather have more excitement in the game I love to watch than have the extra point just be a time where I can go refill my pretzel bowl. That’s what commercials are for, anyways.