What is the longest NFL playoff field goal in history? The record for the longest field goal ever made in a regular-season game was actually broken this season. Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens hit a walk-off 66-yard field goal to defeat the Lions this past September.
Longest NFL playoff field goal
Although nobody has ever kicked a 66-yard field goal in the playoffs, there have been a number of long kicks in the postseason.
To hit a long field goal in the regular season is one thing, but to have the longest postseason field goal is another level of difficulty. With the pressure of making a long kick when it matters most, only the best NFL kickers of all-time can settle the nerves and boot it through the uprights come playoff time.
5. Mike Nugent: 57-yard field goal with Bengals (against Colts)
Mike Nugent kicks off the list with a 57-yard field goal in 2014.
It was during the AFC wild-card battle between the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts. With eight seconds remaining in the second quarter and the Bengals down six, they sent Nugent out to attempt the long field goal.
As the football started sailing closer and closer to the uprights, it looked as though it may miss left. Luckily for Nugent and the Bengals, the ball would deflect off of the left upright and through. With the make, Nugent set the record for the longest postseason field goal in Bengals history.
4. Wil Lutz: 57-yard field goal with Saints (against Panthers)
Wil Lutz is no stranger to long field goals in his career. To go along with this 57-yard postseason field goal against the Carolina Panthers in 2017, Lutz has hit 57 and 58 yarders in the regular season.
The field goal attempt came midway through the third quarter, as the Saints were leading the Panthers 21-12 in the NFC wild-card game. Lutz made the kick look easy, hitting it perfectly down the middle.
The kick would help push the Saints’ lead back to double digits. That would be the only field goal Lutz needed to make, as the Saints went on to win 31-26.
3. Greg Zuerlein: 57-yard field goal with Rams (against Saints)
Greg Zuerlein’s 57 yarder is ahead of the others because of the way in which he did it. There is no better feeling for a kicker than a game-winning field goal, and that is exactly what Zuerlein did against the Saints in 2018.
The game will, unfortunately, be most remembered for the missed pass interference call on Los Angeles cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. After the missed call, the Saints and Rams traded field goals, which sent the game to overtime.
In overtime, it would be Zuerlein who would kick the 57-yard field goal for the win, which sent the Rams to the Super Bowl.
2. Graham Gano: 58-yard field goal with Panthers (against Saints)
Tied for the longest NFL playoff field goal, Graham Gano’s 58 yarder against the Saints in 2017 was one for the history books.
With the Saints up 21-6 right before halftime, Gano stepped in to tie the playoff record. The booming kick came close to missing, but just sneaked in along the left upright to share the record for the longest postseason field goal.
It wasn’t the only long field goal in the game, as Will Lutz’s 57-yard field goal took place in the next quarter.
1. Pete Stoyanovich: 58-yard field goal with Dolphins (against Chiefs)
Pete Stoyanovich‘s 58-yard field goal in 1990 set the record for the longest NFL playoff field goal ever. The record still stands today (although now shared with Gano), more than 30 years after he accomplished the feat.
It was during the AFC wild-card game between the Dolphins and Chiefs where Stoyanovich made history. In the second quarter with the Dolphins down three, Stoyanovich nailed the record-breaking kick to tie the game.
Although he is not one of the best NFL kickers of all-time, Stoyanovich will be remembered as the man who kicked the longest NFL playoff field goal.