It would sure take a lot for a kicker to be put within the same declaration as your superstars on offense..but Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell sure is trying to get himself into the Killer Bs. On a night on which quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and running back Le’Veon Bell all dominated, it was off the foot of the unflappable third-year man that the AFC North was claimed in 2017.
And it has become a tried and true method, with Boswell hitting game-winning field goals in four of the Steelers’ last five games, accounting for half of the team’s victories during their current eight-game winning streak.
The 46-yard game-winner was just one of four makes on the night, on four attempts, and was not even his longest, either, as he hit from 52 yards out. He has made a field goal of 50 yards or more in three of the past four games now as well.
After Boswell hit a 53-yarder two weeks ago as time expired to beat the Packers, head coach Mike Tomlin talked about how they were vocal about challenging their young kicker to step up to the standard of today’s kicker, of which it is now expected of them to be accurate and successful from that range. He has stepped up in that regard, and in about every other as well.
Boswell’s four field goals gives him 32 on the season, which is the third-most for the Steelers in their history. His next make will tie Gary Anderson’s 33 that he made in 1985, on 42 attempts. The franchise record is owned by Norm Johnson, who connected on 34 out of 41 attempts in 1995. With three games left, there’s a very good chance he sets a new franchise record in field goal makes.
He has now made 32 of 35 field goal attempts this season, posting an average of 91.4 on the season, and one of the misses was a block, though it is fair to point out that he has missed on two extra point attempts as well.
For his three-year career, Boswell has now made 82 of 92 field goals, posting a career 89.1 percent success percentage. According to Pro Football Reference, that would be good for the third-highest career average in NFL history, behind only active kickers Dan Bailey and Justin Tucker, but they only include kickers with at least 100 attempts.
And he has only missed one field goal since Week Four. He has connected on three or more field goals on six separate occasions this season, including going five for five to beat the Bengals in Week Seven. This is the fourth time he has been perfect on at least four field goal attempts this season.
Boswell’s greatest quality appears to be his poise. He said after the game-winner last week that a kick is just a kick, no matter when it happens. As long as you take that approach, you won’t be flustered by the situation.
