Last year, there were two weeks with at least five field goals made from more than 55 yards across the NFL. This year, kickers have already matched that number – through two weeks.
The range of kickers has been extended, perhaps because teams are now given more time to prepare balls to their exact liking.
After a joint proposal from the Ravens, Browns, Texans, Eagles, Raiders, Vikings, and Commanders, the NFL instituted a new rule that allows teams to break in kicking balls, otherwise known as "K-Balls," ahead of gameday, just like other footballs used in play.
Teams present three "K-Balls" to the officiating crew before the game, which are inspected along with the quarterback balls. Previously, teams only had a few hours on gameday to get their kicking balls ready.
Ravens rookie kicker Tyler Loop downplayed the significance of breaking in the balls, but did say it helps extend a kicker's range.
"The difference between the ball we break in and the ball we have in our practice bag is maybe two to three yards," he said.
Loop said Baltimore's equipment staff breaks in the balls and then long snapper Nick Moore selects the three the Ravens will use on gameday.
"It's just foot-to-ball, how it feels coming off your foot," Loop said. "You can soften up the leather. One thing they do is they scrape off all the nubs, or like dimples. They scrape all that off so there's less air resistance on the ball. Then the leather on the seams becomes softer, so you can compress the ball better on the seams."
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey hit a 64-yard field goal to send their game versus the Giants to overtime on Sunday. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell hit a 60-yard game-winner in Week 1.
"Not that it's become the new norm, but I think the expectation is like, 'Dang, dude's going to get these kicks now,'" Loop said. "It's cool."
Loop Is Working to Iron Out Experimental Kickoffs
Speaking of rule changes, the Ravens and the rest of the league continue to experiment with the best strategies for the "Dynamic Kickoff," which now places the ball at the 35-yard line on a touchback.
So far, there have only been 31 touchbacks through two weeks in the NFL season. That's 18.6% of the kickoffs, which is a dramatic decrease from previous years as teams look to pin their opponents back.
For the Ravens, it's been hit or miss. While the Browns averaged just 18.8 yards on five returns last Sunday, Loop also had one kickoff come short of the landing zone and another go out of bounds, each giving Cleveland starting field position at the 40-yard line. Loop also had one kickoff short of the landing zone in Buffalo.
"We're trying a lot of new things with the kickoff. We're trying a lot of dirty balls, get funky rotations on them, trying to get them on the ground," Loop said. "Anything we can do to delay the return or start. We're trying a lot of new things, figuring that out.
"I wouldn't say it's annoying or frustrating. It's a learning curve. You're trying to hit an oblong ball in a way that it rotates funny."
A longtime NFL special teams coach before becoming the Ravens' head coach, John Harbaugh said, "the challenges right now with field position are really becoming interesting with this kickoff."
"We've just got to decide whether we want to risk that or not," Harbaugh said. "But I don't really want Tyler kicking the ball out of bounds, and he knows that. That for sure shouldn't happen in my mind. The drive kick that comes up short, that's tougher, because that can happen. The ball is shaped funny, but we don't love that either. We still want to have a chance to cover the kick."
Mark Andrews Is Focused on Winning, Not Stats
Mark Andrews takes exception to any notion that he's starting the season slowly.
With Isaiah Likely yet to return from his foot injury, Andrews has played 78% of the offensive snaps, carrying the bulk of the load at tight end. Andrews has two catches for seven yards through the first two games, but the only stat he worries about is Baltimore's record.
"I don't look at it as slow," Andrews said. "I'm doing a lot of things to make big plays.
"You look at the first game [against Buffalo]. Just about every run was sprung on a block behind me. In my eyes, I'm trying to win games and help this team out. I feel like I'm doing a good job with the things that are asked of me."
The Ravens are blessed with an abundance of weapons, and Lamar Jackson has been clicking with his wide receivers. Andrews has been targeted just four times while backup tight end Charlie Kolar has yet to be targeted.
Harbaugh is not worried about tight ends being excluded as the season progresses.
"Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar are going to catch a lot of passes," Harbaugh said. "I expect those guys to be a big part of what we're doing.
"If we start going four or five weeks, and you don't see the tight ends getting targets, I'll probably be asking 'Monk' (Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken) and Lamar and the guys, 'What do you think?' But the ball goes where it goes based on the reads. Those guys know that, and they're fighting to run good routes and are just trying to make the plays that come to them."
Last season, Andrews didn't have a touchdown catch through five games, then finished the season as the team leader with 11 touchdowns. A three-time Pro Bowler, Andrews is the franchise's all-time leader with 51 touchdown catches. He has a body of work that can be trusted.
"I know that good things will come – patience," Andrews said. "I'm not worried too much about the outside noise, fantasy football, that stuff doesn't matter to me. I'm worried about this team."
Roger Rosengarten Knows Protecting Jackson Is Paramount
Through just two weeks, five starting NFL quarterbacks have already been injured – Joe Burrow (Bengals), Justin Fields (Jets), Brock Purdy (49ers), J.J. McCarthy (Vikings), and Jayden Daniels (Commanders).
Ravens right tackle Roger Rosengarten has noticed, but he doesn't need to be reminded how important it is to protect Jackson. Rosengarten is off to a strong start and has yet to allow a sack or pressure in 55 pass block snaps, according to the 33rd Team.
In Week 3, the Ravens will face another premier pass rusher in Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions after facing Myles Garrett of the Browns in Week 2.
"Every week you go against one of the best rushers in the NFL," Rosengarten said. "Those guys disrupt games. It's part of my job and the rest of the O-line's job to minimize those guys from making plays.
"Those guys get paid big money to go get the quarterback. Thankfully, with Lamar, we have such a good player he can make multiple guys miss at one time. But regardless … it's our job to protect those guys."
