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FG Kickers Grabbing Headlines

It’s been a noteworthy few weeks for field-goal kickers, and it was no different last Sunday.

Cincinnati’s Shayne Graham nailed a franchise-record seven field goals in a 21-7 win over Baltimore. He connected from 34, 19, 22, 35, 35, 21 and 33 yards, with the final four came in the fourth quarter.

Graham’s feat comes three weeks after Tennessee’s Rob Bironas set a new NFL mark with eight in a game. Bironas kicked the record-setter as time expired for a 38-36 victory over Houston on Oct. 21.

There are four others who have recorded seven field goals in a game, and Chris Boniol, kicking seven for Dallas on Nov. 18, 1996, had one of the more remarkable performances of these six kickers. Only one of his seven field goals was from less than 35 yards, as he connected from 45, 37, 42, 45, 35, 39 and 28 yards out.

Most Field Goal Yardage in a Game, Minimum 7 Field Goals, All-Time

Kicker. . . . . . . . . . . . . Date. . . . . . . . FGs. . . . . . . . . . Yds. . . . . . . . . .Yds/FG
Chris Boniol, Dal. . . . . 11/18/96. . . . . . . .7. . . . . . . . . . . 271. . . . . . . . . . . .38.7
Billy Cundiff, Dal. . . . . . 9/15/03. . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . .262. . . . . . . . . . . 37.4
Rob Bironas, Ten. . . . 10/21/07. . . . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . . . 257. . . . . . . . . . . 32.1
Shayne Graham, Cin. . 11/11/07. . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . 199. . . . . . . . . . .28.4
Rich Karlis, Min. . . . . .11/05/89. . . . . . . .7. . . . . . . . . . . 196. . . . . . . . . . . 28.0
Jim Bakken, StL. . . . . . 9/24/67. . . . . . . .7. . . . . . . . . . . .183. . . . . . . . . . . 26.1

Equally noteworthy were Billy Cundiff’s seven field goals for Dallas in 2003. He connected from 49 yards out early in the game and tied the score with a 52-yarder as time expired. His 25-yard boot in overtime secured a 35-32 victory over the New York Giants.

When Graham kicked the last of his seven field goals on Sunday, he had converted 19 straight attempts since missing his first try of the season in Week 1. That’s the longest active streak without a miss. Next on the list is Bironas, who has been successful in 15 consecutive attempts, followed by Buffalo’s Rian Lindell (11).

Another field-goal kicker, a 37-year-old veteran who has been dependable over a long career, drew little attention last Sunday. Denver’s Jason Elam kicked a 50-yard field goal in the Broncos’ 27-11 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the 37th time that he has converted from 50 or more yards. Only Morten Andersen, who has kicked 40 field goals of at least 50 yards in 25 NFL seasons, has more. Andersen, 47, has missed his only two attempts from 50+ yards since converting his last one in 2002.

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