The Indianapolis Colts appeared positioned for exactly the kind of finish that keeps NFL stadiums packed.
Fourth quarter. Their ball. Down one point against the Houston Texans with 1:48 remaining. On the second play of what would be their final drive in Week 3, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones ripped a pass down the middle to receiver Laquon Treadwell for a 20-yard gain. Just like that, the Colts were cooking at the Houston 45-yard line.
What happened next left some perplexed: The Colts began to display a sudden lack of urgency.
They ran the ball on their next play. Next, they casually allowed the clock to tick down from 40 to 29 seconds before the following play -- that's when Houston, interestingly, called a timeout. Then, another run.
Not until the Colts faced a third-and-6 did they make a more concerted effort to achieve a first down. Receiver Keenan Allen came up inches short after a 6-yard reception, so kicker Spencer Shrader came on and booted a 53-yard game-winning field goal with 21 seconds remaining.
Why weren't the Colts more aggressive? And when did a 53-yard field goal become a slam dunk? The situation offered a prime example of how the traditional approach to late-game situations in the NFL has necessarily evolved at a time when more and more games are being decided late.
In some instances, the "hurry-up" offense becomes more like "hurry up ... kinda."
"That is real," Colts coach Shane Steichen said. "There's no doubt. When you have an opportunity to finish the game, you want it to be the last drive."
Just ask the Dallas Cowboys, who can attest to it after losing a Week 3 game to the Baltimore Ravens on an inexplicable seven-second scoring drive.
If it feels like there has been more last-minute scoring in the NFL lately, it's because there has been.
Since the latest change to the NFL kickoff process last year, with the ball positioned at the 35-yard line after touchbacks, madness has ensued in the final moments of games. The number of drives starting in the final minute of halves culminating in a touchdown or field goal attempt skyrocketed by more than 50% relative to the 10 seasons before the changes.
Meanwhile, the increasing strength and skill level of kickers, combined with underappreciated changes to rules governing how kicking balls -- known as K-balls -- may be manipulated by teams, has spurred a 60% increase in field goal attempts of 50 yards or longer in just five seasons. Many of those attempts are coming late in games and proving decisive.
There were an NFL-record 12 field goal conversions of 60 yards or longer last season, including Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little's 68-yarder, the longest in NFL history.
Subtle changes are translating into massive impacts on the game, and the trends seem unlikely to slow anytime soon.
"Now you're seeing, I mean, chaos out there from some teams," Jaguars coach Liam Coen said. "And it's cool to watch."
When a touchback can cost you the game
Of course, it's less cool if you're on the wrong side of the outcome.
That brings us back to the Cowboys. There are a host of reasons they lost 34-31 to the Ravens on Sept. 27 in Rio de Janeiro, among them some curious coaching decisions and poor execution by players.
Ravens head coach Jesse Minter says thank you very much for the Cowboys gifting them the 35 yard line by not kicking off short. https://t.co/REtudrJbLE
— Ryan Paganetti (@RyanPaganetti) September 28, 2026
But not to be overlooked was the role that today's kickoff rules played in the defeat. Had the Cowboys made the exact same miscues and been subject to the same circumstances just a few years ago, they likely would have held off Baltimore and pushed the game into overtime.
One of the biggest variables in the loss was Dallas' decision to kick into the end zone after their tying field goal. With just seven seconds remaining, kicker Brandon Aubrey was instructed to aim for a touchback. But in the past three seasons, field position after touchbacks has been overhauled. After a 2024 change, teams were awarded the ball at the 30-yard line after touchbacks. (It was previously the 25-yard line.) A year later, in 2025, the rule was amended again, placing the ball at the 35.
Ten yards of additional field position is priceless in an environment where kickers are capable of making field goals from near midfield.
"There are so many yards at stake," Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said. "That's led to just so many more action plays in the kicking game in general. It's a big deal."
Said Steichen: "You get the ball at the 35, and, shoot, someone hits an in-cut [route]. Next thing you know, they're at the plus-45 [yard line] and they kick a game-winning field goal."
It's precisely what happened to Dallas, when quarterback Lamar Jackson hit receiver Zay Flowers for a 27-yard gain immediately after Dallas' kickoff. Baltimore called a timeout with one second remaining, allowing kicker Tyler Loop to convert a 56-yard field goal as time expired.
Two-minute situations have been turned upside down by all of this.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there were 49 game-winning drives that ended in the final two minutes of regulation in 2025, the most since 2000. Through four weeks of the 2026 season, there have already been 11 such drives. That puts this season on pace to match or exceed last year's total.
"It used to be easy," said New York Giants coach John Harbaugh, who began coaching in the NFL when touchbacks translated to drive starts at the 20-yard line. "You kick a touchback and it's a gift. Good field position for your defense. They eliminated that because they want more returns, which I'm always for more."
Adding to the issues is the complexity of today's dynamic kickoff process. Because the ball must land within the specified landing zone -- between the receiving team's goal line and the 20-yard line -- the possibility of a miss exists. When kickers are attempting to kick into the corners or hit kicks at specific angles to disadvantage kick returners, the odds of a miscue increase. The potential consequences are dire: The receiving team takes possession at its 40-yard line if a kick misses the landing zone or the ball goes out of bounds.
The whole exercise is harder than it looks.
"People don't get how hard it is for it to land just in the landing spot," San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Not a touchback, not short and not out of bounds. It's not as easy as people think.
"You want to kick it high in there, but you're a little amped up and [could be] a touchback and that's a big miss because it's already at the 35 now."
Why manipulating K-balls for the kicker could be huge
It's a part of the game few fans concern themselves with: the origins of the footballs used on game day.
But it's actually a huge aspect of game prep for teams, both in terms of the balls used by quarterbacks and those set aside for kicks and punts. That's why a little-discussed rule change in 2025 has seemingly played an important role in today's frenzied final minutes of games.
The NFL years ago standardized kicking balls, putting a stop to the over-manipulation of balls by teams looking to achieve better ball flight. The balls were presented to teams by the officiating crew, fresh out of the box, 60 minutes before kickoff. Equipment managers could address the balls using water, towels and brushes, but time was limited.
But that rule was rescinded last year. Now, teams have the freedom to address the balls to their liking throughout the week, just as they have been doing on behalf of quarterbacks for years.
Whether it has made a tangible difference is difficult to prove. But it's hard to imagine the explosion in long field goals since last season's rule change is coincidental. Three of the seven longest field goals in NFL history have come since the start of last season.
And while the accuracy rates of kickers hasn't increased substantively, the increased willingness of teams to attempt long kicks is undeniable. According to ESPN Research, in 2020, there were 168 field goal attempts of 50 yards or longer. In 2025, there were 266 -- more than a 60% increase. This season, the league is on pace to see more than 300 such attempts.
Notably, the success rate on long field goal attempts has not suffered despite the increase in frequency. Since the K-ball rule changes, NFL kickers are converting attempts of 50 yards or longer at a 67.7% rate. In the five seasons prior to the change, the number was 64.9%. In summary, more kickers are attempting longer kicks -- and they're making more of them.
"The difference between a quarterback ball is that those are more like the original ball that comes out of the box," Shrader said. "It's grippier, it's a little pointier, it's smaller, so you can grip it better and they can throw those tighter spirals.
"With the kicking balls, you're trying to get rid of that texture that's on it. You don't care if it's a smooth ball. For the most part, we want the balls that are a little bit more rounded and more inflated because that's how we're going to get the most power."
Colts long-snapper Luke Rhodes, who has become well-versed in ball preparation, added, "You want to knock the [ends] in and make it a little fatter."
Members of the Colts' equipment staff, like all other teams, mold the balls to the kickers' liking throughout the week. Then, as game day approaches, staffers present options to the team's specialists. Rhodes and punter Rigoberto Sanchez typically make the call on which balls to select.
"I just show up and kick," Shrader said.
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans admits he made a mistake not calling the timeout earlier during the Colts last drive. https://t.co/bDjS81tnF0
— DJ Bien-Aime | NASM CPT (@Djbienaime) September 28, 2026
But the K-ball changes likely aren't responsible for all of the historic kicking trends.
Today's kickers are not yesterday's kickers. They train differently and are more powerful. They have more specialized coaching. They are tapping into everything at their disposal, and it's having an impact.
"They're getting stronger, getting more flexible," Shrader said. "They have bigger legs overall.
"So, you combine the increase in the field position with guys just being more athletic and capable now. And that's not to rag on anyone who came before. It's just all the resources that we have now, it's crazy. Sports scientists, the training, the nutrition. It gives guys a chance, I think, to maximize their bodies."
The proliferation of longer field goal attempts has been a revolutionary development, especially compared to the alternative.
"That's a big deal," Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. "Because, now, you're not talking about a Hail Mary."
Why time is such a valuable commodity
The changes in the game have added a layer of complexity for coaches. Decisions at the end of halves and regulation time that once seemed like no-brainers have been upended.
No longer is kicking into the end zone an easy fallback on late kickoffs as it was when such actions granted the receiving team possession at the 20-yard line. There's even been a major shift in defensive strategy. Teams might elect to be more aggressive in coverage in certain situations, knowing a soft zone coverage might allow for a couple of intermediate gains. When allowing the offense to reach midfield can get you beat, the stakes are high.
"It's like golf," New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. "When a 270-yard drive used to seem like a long drive, now it is 340 yards.
"So, they start at the 35 [yard line] and they get to the 50 or past the 50, guys are making kicks from there, as crazy as that may sound. So, there is a lot that goes into it and managing the clock, but never wanting to be too cute."
In scenarios like the one that led to the Cowboys' loss, several coaches said they would elect to kick off into the landing zone. It would allow a return, but it also would eat up precious time on the clock.
"Time," Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason said, "that's the most important commodity. Even if they return it to the 35, which would be the same as a touchback, but it costs them six seconds. That is a benefit for our defense."
"We're always trying to make them return it," Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh said. "Always."
But it's not entirely that cut-and-dried, either.
Because kick-coverage teams are having to cover many more kickoff returns, there's less margin for error. In 2020, before the dynamic kickoff concept was introduced, and when touchbacks still translated to field position at the 25-yard line, kickoffs were more of an afterthought. NFL teams averaged 1.9 kickoffs per game that season, and the average kick return was 22.5 yards.
This season, teams are averaging four kickoff returns per game and the average return is 26 yards.
"How does it change your strategy?" Harbaugh asked. "I think you better have a good kickoff team."
In Buffalo, Bills coach Joe Brady pointed out there is an additional variable at certain times of year: weather. Kicking an awkwardly shaped ball into a highly specific area of the field amid a swirling snowstorm doesn't sound so simple.
"Like, 'Hey man, you need to be able to get time off the clock right here, but we have to have the ball land in play and the wind might impact it,'" he said.
And then there are the competing ideas Steichen was working through during that game-winning drive against Houston, wanting his offense to score -- just not too quickly.
Figuring it all out, Brady said, is "what we get paid to do."
Clearly, coaches have more to think about in late-game situations these days. As for fans, it's different for them, too. They are often finding it necessary to catch their breath.
"Now," Shanahan said, "you can lose the game with seven seconds on the clock."
ESPN's Sarah Barshop, Courtney Cronin, Turron Davenport, Rob Demovsky, Mike DiRocco, John Keim, Jordan Raanan, Marc Raimondi, Mike Reiss, Nick Suss and Nick Wagoner contributed to this report.