SANTA CLARA, Calif. — SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The 50-plus-yard field goals that once were a rarity in the NFL are now as routine as far shorter kicks a generation ago. The range for many kickers now exceeds 60 yards, changing late-game strategy in a major way.The kicking revolution has sparked questions about whether the balls are juiced. Not quite, but there is a major difference this year, with teams now having the chance to prepare kicking balls before game day and practice with the same balls they use in games. The added length that gives kickers had Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio comparing it to the home run explosion during baseball’s steroid era starting in the late 1990s.“It’s almost like they need an asterisk here,” Fangio said. “It was the live ball era or the asterisk for those home runs (Barry) Bonds and (Sammy) Sosa and (Mark) McGwire were hitting. The way they’ve changed the ball, the NFL, the kicking ball has drastically changed the field goals.”Fangio’s comparison might be a bit hyperbolic, with kickers saying the more broken-in balls travel only a few yards farther, but even that could put records for long-distance field goals in jeopardy. There have already been four kicks made from at least 60 yards this season — one shy of the single-season record — with Tampa Bay’s Chase McLaughlin hitting a 65-yarder against Fangio’s Eagles in Week 4, just 1 yard shy of Justin Tucker’s record set in 2021.Dallas’ Brando …
