Oakland Raiders: Sebastian Janikowski Steady Force In A Sea Of Bad Kickers

By Jonathan George | Oct 7, 2015

The last week in the NFL has produced some truly ugly results from the kicking position league wide. All around pro football, many fans were treated to watching their favorite teams kickers miss field goals and extra points that greatly contributed to their team either losing the game or sweating out a close win. One set of fans that hasn’t had to sweat what will happen when their team’s kicker lines up for an attempt is the Oakland Raiders fan base. Why? Sebastian Janikowski, who is perfect in 2015.

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Janikowski is one of the few players on the Raiders that week in and week out rarely lays an egg and is always suited up and ready.

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One quick look around the league this season, and especially last Sunday’s games, will tell you that Janikowski’s reliability is less of a rule and more of the exception. Janikowski is one of only nine kickers league wide that have not missed a FG or XP in 2015. Oft hyped NFL kickers (if there is such a thing) like Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens, Mason Crosby of the Green Bay Packers and Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts can’t claim this distinction.

“Sea Bass” has been rock solid so far in a year that has seen a rule change seemingly cause chaos amongst the kicking ranks, as guys everywhere around the NFL can’t seem to hit XP with regularity now that they are attempting them from 33 yards instead of 20 yards or so. So fay this season, NFL kickers have missed 14 extra points through 4 weeks, per ESPN statisitcs. That is a HUGE number, but not completely shocking considering the distance change.

In addition to missed XP, kickers are struggling to make shorter kicks in 2015. Just in week 4 alone, place kickers in the NFL missed 7 field goals combined from under 40 yards, going 15 for 22, per Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk. And while the total make percentage through the first 4 weeks of season isn’t disastrously low at 84.9 percent, the fact that the misses are coming from shorter distances in fairly fair fall weather does not bode well for late season projections.

Raiders and their fans have to be thankful for what they have in Janikowski. His accuracy and power still look great even though he is in his 16th NFL season. He bounced back nicely in 2014 from a bad 2013 that saw him near the bottom of the league in make percentage, and so far in 2015 has shown he is unfazed by game winning or momentum building kicks. If not for the Bears final drive on Sunday, Janikowski’s final FG would have sealed the game for Oakland.

The fact that Janikowski’s leg strength is still very good could be a big advantage down the stretch. A 33 yard XP is child’s play for Janikowski, and when the weather begins to worsen in a month or so he should not struggle the way other kickers who have weaker legs might. We have already seen how these kicks can change the game; a 30 yard FG miss by Zach Hocker of the Saints caused them to have to go to OT to beat the Cowboys last Sunday.

The longer Janikowski can extend his perfect streak, the better the Raiders chances are of edging out other teams in close games. He is one player Raiders fans should not be sweating about, and when he is nailing his next game winning kick it’ll be nice to know that the kicking position is one of strength and reliability for the Oakland Raiders.

If the first quarter of the 2015 NFL season has taught us anything, it’s that many teams and fans can’t say that.

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