Yahoo Sports Jaguars started kicker who never kicked a regular-season field goal at any level. He made his first try.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are having a rough go of things at the kicker position. On Sunday, they became the first team in NFL history to have a different player attempt a field goal or extra point in five straight games.
The team turned to Jon Brown in Week 6 because the Jags’ past four kickers have gotten injured. Elevated from the practice squad on Monday, Brown is at best a Plan E for the Jags. How do we know? Brown has never kicked or even attempted a field goal in a regular-season game. Not just in the NFL, but also during his college career.
He ended that drought late in the first quarter after booting a 31-yard field goal against the Detroit Lions. Later in the half, he missed a 32-yard attempt.
Soccer player turned kicker
Brown is a former soccer player who was good enough to make the U-17 national team as a teenager. He focused on soccer in college, but later transferred from Kentucky to Louisville so he could also play football, which he played in high school. Eventually, Brown went exclusively football and made the Louisville team as a walk-on.
Bad luck and injuries prevented Brown from playing much — he was a kickoff specialist who attempted no field goals — and after his medical redshirt was denied, his only shot at playing more football was to dazzle NFL scouts at Louisville’s pro day. He did just that, and earned himself an invite to the Cincinnati Bengals’ minicamp in 2016.
Brown made history Sunday, becoming the sixth Black player to make an NFL field goal. The other five players are Gene Mingo, Obed Ariri, Donald Igwebuike, Cedric Oglesby and Justin Medlock.
For the record, Brown has made a field goal in a game before, just not in a college or professional game that actually counted. He made a 55-yarder during a Bengals preseason game a few years ago, so his foot has the power.
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