If the NFL season continues on the way it has thus far, we will undoubtedly look back on Sunday Oct. 23, 2016 – a beautiful autumn night in the heart of the desert – as the night that changed everything. The night that the NFL broke.
Despite being responsible for the only meager points scored in 75 minutes of game play that took four hours to unfold, Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro and Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka became the laughing stock of a very tired America when they both missed game-winning field goal attempts in the waning minutes of overtime. Catanzaro was the first to blow the win for his team when he missed a 24-yarder with 3:26 in OT. This virtually guaranteed that if the Seahawks could get into field goal range, they’d win what appeared to be a football game that God had forsaken.
The Seahawks did get into solid field goal range, and of course Hauschka missed the 28-yard attempt to effectively ensure that a prime time NFL game between two of the NFC’s “premiere” teams ended in a 6-6 tie. NO TOUCHDOWNS. A TIE. My god. Blair Walsh, I believe we owe you a very big apology.
So in a show of solidarity with incredulous football fans around the country, former stud wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Randy Moss took to the field to show these sad sack kickers how it’s done. And you better believe he did it in his goddamn dress shoes.
.@RandyMoss nailed two 28-yard FGs in dress shoes.
https://t.co/YPvhxIV1KM
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 24, 2016
BOSS. Now obviously the likelihood that he could out-kick either of those dudes in a real game time situation is an entirely different conversation. Plus the idea that the enormous weight of one of the worst Sunday Night Football games in history rests squarely on the shoulders of the kickers is incredibly unfair. A hefty portion of the blame can also be doled out to the quarterbacks, coaches, punters, all the rest of the special teams squad and hell, probably even the cheerleaders as well.
But like I said, we needed this. So thank you Randy Moss. You truly are the GOAT.