NFL Player News

Butker made his only field-goal attempt (from 39 yards) en route to scoring seven points in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

Butker was one of the top kickers during the regular season, and he continued his high play in the postseason. After making all 16 of his field goals from closer than 40 yards in the regular season, he went 2-for-2 in the playoffs from the same range while also hitting all eight of his extra-point attempts.

Zuerlein was perfect during Sunday's 26-23 overtime win against the Saints. He connected on both extra-point kicks and all four field-goal attempts, including the game-tying kick from 48 yards and the game-clincher from 57 yards.

Considering the hostile road environment at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and what was on the line for the Rams, Zuerlein's kicking performance Sunday ranks among the best of all time. He's now hit seven of eight field-goal attempts and all five of his extra-point kicks during the playoffs, and he'll probably need to remain clutch for Los Angeles to have a shot at hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Elliott converted both of his extra-point attempts Sunday in the Eagles' 20-14 loss to the Saints in the divisional round.

Including the Eagles' two playoff contests, Elliott was generally solid during his second NFL season, as he converted 27 of 32 field-goal tries (84.4 percent) and missed only two of 38 point-after attempts. The 23-year-old will become an exclusive-rights free agent this offseason and will almost certainly be tendered a contract for 2019.

Badgley knocked down both of his extra-point tries Sunday in the Chargers' 41-28 loss to the Patriots in the divisional round.

A week after leading the Chargers to a wild-card round win over the Ravens on the back of his five field goals, Badgley finished with his fewest points in any of his 12 games as the team's kicker. With the Chargers trailing by double digits for the final 42 minutes of the game, there wasn't much incentive for the team to opt for field goals, while Badgley missed out on some additional scoring chances when Los Angeles went for two on its final two touchdowns. The limited work Sunday won't take much shine off what was a stellar debut campaign for Badgley, who stabilized the Los Angeles kicking game with a 20-for-22 success rate on field goals and a 29-for-30 mark on point-after tries.

Maher converted 29 of 36 field-goal attempts and 32 of 33 extra-point tries in 2018.

Maher beat out Dan Bailey for the Cowboys' kicking job back in early September, and he managed to keep a firm grip on the position all year. The 29-year-old made 119 points during the regular season, including six of seven field goals from 50 yards or more. Maher is under contract with Dallas for 2019 and appears likely to return as the team's starting kicker.

Tucker converted on 35 of 39 field-goal attempts and added 36 extra points on 37 attempts in 2018.

Another strong season netted Tucker a first-team All-Pro nod and kept him cemented as one of the elite kickers in the NFL. He connected on five kicks of 50-plus yards and has now made at least 30 field goals in four straight seasons and six of his seven seasons overall. Tucker will enter the final season of his four-year, $16.8 million deal with the Ravens in 2019.

Badgley made five of his six field-goal attempts Sunday in the 23-17 wild-card win over the Ravens.

It's fair to say that without Badgley's heroics, the Chargers could very easily have lost Sunday's playoff game despite dominating the contest for three quarters. Save for a second quarter attempt which was blocked, Badgley saved a Chargers offense that was otherwise incapable of stringing an extended drive together, converting on field-goal attempts of 21, 53, 40, 34 and 47 yards. The rookie kicker has been outstanding since earning the permanent starting role in Week 10, making all but one field goal (12-for-13) and one extra point (20-for-21) while providing a sturdy option at a position that has given Chargers fans grief for multiple seasons.

Lutz made 28 of 30 field-goal attempts and 52 of his 53 extra-point kicks in 16 games in 2018.

After a somewhat shaky first two seasons in New Orleans, Lutz was exceptionally accurate in 2018, converting 93 percent of his field goals. While his production lagged near the end of the season as the Saints offense stalled, Lutz still accounted for 136 total points, fourth most in the league. The third-year pro should remain a reliable playoff option for the Super Bowl-contending Saints and is expected to have plenty of job security entering 2019 while backed by one of the league's best offenses.

McManus ended 2018 having connected on 20 of 25 field goals, with a long of 53, and converting all 35 of his point-after attempts.

McManus struggled mightily in 2017, missing from all over the field. His conversion percentage improved only slightly in 2018 -- ranking 26th in the league at 80 percent -- but he was a perfect 18 for 18 inside 50 yards. It was from the outer limits where he struggled, connecting on just two of seven field goals of 50 yards or longer. Most notably, he missed field goals of 62 yards and 51 yards at the end of both halves against Houston. The Temple product still managed to nail game-winners against the Raiders and Chargers, and was one of only three kickers to convert all of his point-after attempts. His opportunities faded down the stretch along with a dinged-up Denver offense, with just two multi-attempt games in the final seven contests of the season. He figures to improve to the extent Denver's offense improves in 2019.

Fairbairn did not attempt a field goal and converted his lone extra-point kick in Saturday's 21-7 wild-card round loss to Indianapolis.

Fairbairn, the NFL's leading scorer in 2018, did not get much work in the playoff loss. Houston's defense committed early penalties that extended a couple of the Colts' drives, which turned into touchdowns, putting the offense in a deep second-quarter hole. The Colts' defense then clamped down on quarterback Deshaun Watson and his weapons, preventing the offense from consistently moving the ball and limiting the Texans to one red-zone opportunity over the first three quarters. All that served to limit Fairbairn, who becomes an exclusive-rights free agent next year. The Texans are expected to bring him back for 2019.