The NFL moved their extra-point try back to a 33-yard attempt before the 2015 season. They first tried it during the preseason and found that moving it back gave the game a little extra drama that extra-points lacked. Also, kickers weren’t having any trouble connecting with the point after touchdown, the move wasn’t expected to have much more than just the appearance of drama.
Fans and NFL officials realized that kickers were becoming too darn good. Not only were kickers rarely missing extra points, but field goal success rate beyond 45 yards was at an all-time high. You would think that moving back extra-points to the 15-yard line wouldn’t be a huge change, but kickers started to miss them more than expected.
Through eight weeks of football, there have been 32 missed extra-points. In Week 8 alone, there were five missed, two in the Bengals/Bucs game on Sunday.
With all the missed extra-points the last three-and-a-half years, has the new rule cost bettors a win from what used to be a gimme point?