Adam Vinatieri and Cody Parkey are among the NFL’s best kickers, but they’ll have to be a little better in the 2015 Pro Bowl.
The NFL announced a number of rule changes Tuesday for its annual all-star game, set for 8 p.m. ET in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 25. Chief among those changes will be new field goal posts that will measure 14 feet wide, more than four feet narrower than the standard 18-foot, six-inch posts that have been in place since 1920.
The league recently has taken an interest in making field goals more difficult. It pushed extra point attempts back from 19 yards to 33 yards this preseason, which resulted in eight misses in 33 preseason games.
The Pro Bowl will act as another testing ground for narrower field goal posts, albeit for the league’s most accurate kickers. Vinatieri missed just one field goal all season for the Indianapolis Colts, while Parkey — who replaced New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski — set a Philadelphia Eagles record by making four field goals of 50-plus yards this season.
Narrower field goal posts aren’t the only new feature fans will see in the Pro Bowl. Instead of the standard three timeouts per half, head coaches John Harbaugh and Jason Garrett will have two timeouts per quarter at their disposal. If they don’t use both timeouts in the first or third quarter, they can carry over one extra timeout to the second and fourth quarters, respectively.
Rule changes implemented in last year’s game also will carry over and include placing the ball at the 25-yard line after scoring plays (no kickoffs), a 35-second play clock and a change of possession between each quarter.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
