(UPDATE, 9:15 pm EST: Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker broke Moody’s record in third quarter with a 57-yard make that pulled the Chiefs to within 10-6.)
The record for the longest field goal in Super Bowl history stood for more than 30 years. Buffalo Bills kicker, Steve Christie, set it in 1994 during Super Bowl XXVIII against the Cowboys, smashing a 54-yard bomb. With the level of kicking talent we’ve seen come into the NFL over the past few decades, amazingly, this record held up for a very long time. But 49ers rookie Jake Moody is the new owner of that record after one-upping Christie with a 55-yarder.
It feels like we see so many 50-plus-yard field goals every season that it really is baffling that this record could stand for three decades. Justin Tucker is the record holder for the regular season after drilling a 66-yard attempt against Detroit a couple of years ago. He surpassed the earlier holder of this record, Matt Prater, by two yards.
Many of the longest field goals in NFL history have been 60 yards or more which is why it’s surprising to see Moody set a Super Bowl record from 55 yards. Not that it isn’t a big feat, especially when you consider the stage, but you’d think we’d have seen this record surpassed at least a couple more times since Christie did it with Buffalo in ’94.
We are approaching a point where hitting a 60-yard field goal will be considered a walk in the park. But we’re still yet to see one on the biggest stage. Now that Moody holds the record it’ll be interesting to see how long he holds it. That type of record is like a crapshoot because it’s so hard to get to a Super Bowl. As good as this Niners team is, who knows if Moody will play in another game to have another opportunity or to reclaim it if he’s eventually bested.
Regardless of how the rest of Moody’s career goes, one thing he’ll always have is that he once held the record for the longest field goal made in Super Bowl history. Even if someone comes along and jumps over him next year, Moody is immortalized in the NFL record books.
