When Did the NFL Move Back the Extra Point?

The extra point is one of the most basic aspects of football, but it hasn’t always been around. In fact, the NFL only adopted the extra point in 1933. So when did the NFL move back the extra point, and why?

The history of the extra point in the NFL

When the NFL was first established in 1920, the extra point was placed at the five-yard line. In 1933, it was moved back to the ten-yard line. In 1934, it was moved back to the fifteen-yard line. In 1975, it was moved back to the twenty-yard line. In 2015, it was moved back to the fifteen-yard line.

Pre-1974

Before 1974, the extra point was kicked from the 2-yard line, meaning it was effectively a 19-yard field goal. In other words, an extra point was almost automatically successful; in the NFL’s first 53 years, teams made more than 99 percent of their extra points. But even with such success rates, there were sometimes deviations from the norm.

1974-1989

In 1974, the NFL moved the extra point back to the 20-yard line, making it a 32-yard kick. This was done in an effort to add excitement to the game by making the extra point a more challenging kick.

However, in 1989, the NFL decided to move the extra point back to the 2-yard line, where it remains today. The reason for this change was that teams were becoming too reliant on kicking extra points, and the league wanted to encourage teams to go for two-point conversions more often.

1990-present

In 2015, the NFL changed the extra point again, this time making it a bit more difficult. The line of scrimmage was moved back from the 2-yard line to the 15-yard line, essentially making it a 33-yard kick. In 2016, 94 percent of extra points were converted, down from 99.3 percent in 2014.

Why the NFL decided to move back the extra point

On May 19, 2015, it was announced that the National Football League would be moving the extra point back to the 15-yard line. This meant that instead of being a 20-yard kick, it would now be a 33-yard kick. The reason for the change was to make the extra point more challenging, and to encourage teams to go for two-point conversions.

To increase the level of excitement

In 2015, the NFL made a major change to its extra point rules. Instead of the ball being placed on the 2-yard line for an extra point attempt, it was moved back to the 15-yard line. This made it a 32-yard field goal attempt, which is nearly a 50% increase in distance.

The NFL made this change for one primary reason: to make the extra point attempt more exciting and challenging. In 2014, there were 1,267 extra point attempts made and 1,261 of them were successful (99.6%). The league felt that this success rate was simply too high and that something needed to be done to make the play more exciting.

So far, the results have been positive. In 2015, there were 1,231 extra point attempts made and 1,146 of them were successful (93.2%). While this success rate is still relatively high, it is a significant decrease from 2014 and it has made the extra point attempt much more exciting for both fans and players alike.

To encourage more two-point conversion attempts

The NFL decided to move back the extra point to encourage more two-point conversion attempts. The extra point was previously worth one point, but is now worth two points. The change was made in 2015, and has been controversial ever since. Some fans argue that the change has made the game less exciting, while others argue that it has added an strategic element to the game.

How the extra point has changed since it was moved back

In 2015, the NFL moved the extra point back to the 15-yard line, making it a 33-yard kick. This was done in an effort to make the extra point more challenging and to add excitement to the game. The extra point had previously been an almost automatic kick, so the league felt that this change would add a bit more excitement.

The number of successful extra points

The National Football League (NFL) moved the line of scrimmage for the extra point back to the 15-yard line in 2015, making it a 33-yard kick. The league also gave defenders the option of returning a blocked extra point or turnover on an extra point attempt for two points. These changes were aimed at making the extra point more challenging and, as a result, more exciting.

The number of successful extra points dropped from 1,267 in 2014 to 1,261 in 2015, a decrease of less than one percent. In 2016, there were 1,244 successful extra points, or two percent fewer than in 2014. There have been slight increases in the number of missed extra points over that time period, but not enough to offset the decrease in successful kicks. In other words, while the newextra point rules have made it slightly more difficult to convert an extra point, it remains overwhelmingly likely that any given attempt will be successful.

The number of two-point conversion attempts

Since the NFL moved the extra point back to the 15-yard line in 2015, the number of successful two-point conversion attempts has increased. In 2014, there were 30 total successful two-point conversion attempts. In 2015, there were 53 successful two-point conversion attempts. In 2016, there were 74 successful two-point conversion attempts. In 2017, there were 84 successful two-point conversion attempts. The trend appears to be continuing in 2018, with 41 successful two-point conversion attempts through week 11 of the NFL season.

The number of missed extra points

Since the NFL moved the extra point back to the 15-yard line in 2015, the number of missed extra points has gone up. In 2014, there were just 17 missed extra points. In 2015, there were 54. In 2016, there were 71. And in 2017, there were a whopping entire 113 missed extra points. That’s more than doubling in four years.