SportsNerdStats.com

Sports Statistics and Info for Sports Fans

Search

Menu
Latest News
New York Knicks
CJ McCollum takes issue with Jalen Brunson’s ‘Broadway show’ after run-in moment
New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson’s subpar game lends feel good possibilites for playoff Knicks
New York Knicks
Knicks’ Mike Brown had counterattack ready when Hawks’ ‘Hack-a-Mitch’ strategy emerged
New York Knicks
Knicks’ defense locked in to shut down Hawks in performance they can only hope to repeat
New York Knicks
Knicks fans were treated to full KAT experience in all its gory — and glory
Minnesota Vikings
Vikings Rumor Mill Update: New Draft Clue, Kenny Moore, Adam Thielen
McCorkle: Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 Mock Draft (Final Version)
MLB News
Prospect News: Shopping Ross Discounts or Will Bush Break Out?
San Diego Padres
Padres’ late win keyed by another strong effort from ‘pen, Merrill’s 3rd robbery

Why have there been so many blocked kicks in NFL this year?

Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
SportsNerdStats.com

Why have there been so many blocked kicks in NFL this year?

The Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers could be dueling for the top of the NFC with matching 4-0 records. Instead, they’ve been undone by blocked kicks that could loom large when it comes to playoff seeding this winter.

They aren’t the only teams to have points taken away when the dam of special teams blocking breaks. Through nearly four weeks we’ve seen a full dozen blocked field goals and extra points. Comparatively, there have only been four blocked punts in that span.



What’s driving this sudden explosion in blocked kicks? As it turns out, there’s no one answer or rule shift driving it. Let’s take a look at all 12 and see if we can find a common thread that unites them, starting on opening weekend.

NFL POWER RANKINGS: Here they are ahead of Week 5

Week 1: Bryan Bresee’s hurdle starts us off

As Jeff Nowak points out below, the Saints‘ line holds down the long snapper, creating the room Bresee needs to leapfrog the line and block Chad Ryland’s kick.

Culprit: A hurdle.

Week 1: Julian Love helps get Jake Moody fired thanks to some help

Moody was a third round draft pick in 2023. He didn’t even make it three full seasons as a San Francisco 49er, thanks in part to Love’s opening day block that kept the Seattle Seahawks in the lead before falling apart in the fourth quarter. The block itself is a numbers game we’ll see again. Seattle puts the maximum number of players on the left side of the line to create a six-on-four advantage. That creates enough space for Love to hurdle the line and ensure the kick never breaches the line of scrimmage.

Culprit: An overloaded line AND a hurdle.

Week 2: The Rams’ terrible blocking allows something to go right for the Titans

There’s no easily available clip of this one, but what happens here is just a whiffed block. Arden Key effectively gets a free run inside and this is the result.

Culprit: Blocking mistakes.

Week 3: The Eagles overload one side of the line with fairy tale monsters

On one side of the ball, the Rams have four blockers taking on three Eagles rushers. To the right of the long snapper, four blockers are taking on six Philly goblins, including the entirety of the team’s starting defensive line.

The Eagles maximized their advantage, putting as many players on one side of the snapper as the league allows and making them a bunch of enormous human beings capable of tipping over a semi trailer simply by leaning on it. The Rams lost the numbers game, then Jordan Davis returned the kick for a spread-beating touchdown because he’s an immortal being the Germans cooked up in the 1600s to punish children who ate too much strudel.

Additionally, this wasn’t even the first kick the Eagles blocked that quarter. An earlier attempt from 36 yards never got the clearance it needed and was easily swatted down by Jalen Carter despite relatively solid protection.

Culprit: An overloaded line (as well as Philadelphia’s never-ending supply of BEEF) on the second kick, a low kick on the first.

Week 3: The Packers fail to put away the Browns, lose to a 41-year-old Joe Flacco

This potential game-winning Brandon McManus kick from 43 yards was nearly blocked twice. At first it appeared Denzel Ward had come off the edge to get a piece of it. If he did, it was only a fingertip. Instead, Shelby Harris got the bulk of the stuff after the Packer line caves approximately one yard and he gets his hand in perfect position to knock down a line-drive kick.

Did Ward’s charge speed up McManus’s motion? Probably not. But Harris is 6-foot-2 and at least seven yards from the kick when he makes contact. He shouldn’t have been able to get to that ball, but the combination of low trajectory and ideal placement made it happen.

Culprit: Blocking mistakes, a low kick and some bad luck.

Week 3: New York Jets vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Will McDonald hurdles the line

McDonald didn’t even have to time the snap on this one. When Buccaneer long snapper Evan Deckers dropped his head post-snap, it created enough space for the pass rusher to leap over the line virtually untouched for an easy block, scoop and score:

That’s not a play that would be legal in the NCAA, but it’s still above-board in the NFL. It’s a savvy, heads-up move from an explosive athlete made possible by a tiny lapse up front. Unlike Bresee’s hurdle, McDonald didn’t need anyone to hold down the snapper. He handled this one himself.

Culprit: A hurdle and a blocking mistake.

Week 3: That’s a really tough kick, mate

Despite the rash of long field goals we’ve seen to begin the 2025 season — thanks in no small part to a new rule that allows kickers more time to warm up balls and get them game ready — most of this year’s blocked kicks have come on shorter attempts. That wasn’t the case for Joey Slye’s 62-yard attempt in Week 3.

6-foot-4 Grover Stewart got about 1.5 yards of penetration on his rush up the middle, which was enough to swat down a line-drive kick.

Culprit: Low kick.

Week 3: Graham Gano’s injury means the Giants have to stop kicking extra points

Jamie Gillan handled double duties as a punter and kicker at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. This may be why head coach Brian Daboll is content to roll with him as a plan B even when regular kicker Graham Gano is dealing with minor injuries that could force him from the field. Gillan is also 0-for-2 on extra point attempts in his NFL career, so maybe he should stop doing that.

Culprit: A punter kicking extra points because Brian Daboll somehow keeps ending up in this situation (low kick).

Week 4: Pat Freiermuth, matador

Ole!

That’s not something you can do against the player with the highest recorded on-field speed in NFL tracking history.

Culprit: Blocking mistake.

Week 4: The Cowboys exploit a two-on-one, swing the balance of Sunday Night Football on an extra point

This one is on Green Bay’s blocking. Luke Musgrave is tasked with repelling two men on the edge. He takes the outside one expecting help from the lineman next to him. Nope! Instead he gives Juanyeh Thomas a more direct line to the ball and Dallas gets a three-point swing in the second-highest scoring tie in NFL history.

Culprit: Blocking mistake.

Week 4: The Bears escape

It’s the same two-on-one blocking situation Luke Musgrave struggled with for the Packers, only this time the outside man gets to the ball. The Bears use a six-on-four advantage to create havoc and win in Las Vegas.

Culprit: An overloaded line.

So why have there been a dozen blocked kicks in the first four weeks of the 2025 NFL season?

It’s been a combination of factors. If there’s one trend here it’s that we’re seeing teams throw some of their best players on the field to overwhelm blockers and collapse out-manned blocking units. Riding a six-on-four advantage is going to create opportunity. Those opportunities have hit more often than we’re used to in the small sample size of four weeks.

Then there’s the Green Bay Packers, who seem genuinely bad at creating space ON TOP of those numbers disadvantages.

In all, the cause of the 12 blocked kicks we’ve seen break down like this (the number adds up to more than a dozen because some kicks were blocked due to multiple factors):

  • Poor blocking: 5
  • Overloaded lines: 3
  • Hurdles: 3
  • Low kicks: 4

This all means special teams coordinators across the league have their homework set out for them. There’s no one trick to why we’re seeing so many blocked kicks this fall. It’s a combination of generating advantages, exploiting mistakes and deploying some really, really good football players. And if you can do that, you may be able to swing the balance of a game with one hand.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why so many blocked kicks in the NFL? A deep dive into the reasons

Related Posts

Back To Top