Chris Boswell will be perfect from inside 50 yards in 2022

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for the 2022 regular season, but before the real games begin, the team has to head to training camp back at St. Vincent College in order to fine tune their skills. As we here at BTSC prepare you for the start of camp, we give you a series called “30 Scenarios in 30 Days” which gives you a Steelers scenario every day leading up to the start of camp.

It is simple how it works. We provide you the scenario, reasons why it will or won’t happen, and then our prediction for what we think will take place.

Let’s get to the scenario...

Scenario: Chris Boswell will be perfect from inside 50 yards in 2022

Why it will happen: Despite missing four field goals in 2021, three of which were inside of 50 yards, Chris Boswell has been close to being perfect inside of 50 in the past. In 2020 he only missed one field goal for the season which was a 45-yarder in Jacksonville. In 2019 Boswell only missed two field goals for the season with one of which being inside of 50 with a 44-yarder in Cleveland. Boswell’s confidence appears to be growing as his career continues on, as well as the Steelers trust in their kicker. Boswell attempted nine field goals of 50 yards of more last season, more than twice his attempts in any other year. Connecting on eight of the nine, Boswell’s only miss was a 56-yarder just before halftime against Tennessee. As the confidence grows, Boswell will continue to knock the ball to the uprights.

Why it won’t happen: Although Steelers’ fans have grown accustomed to writing down the three points anytime Boswell lines up from a distance less than 50 yards over the last several seasons, hitting every kick is a much more difficult feat than some realize. In 2021, there was only one kicker who appeared in at least 10 games and was perfect from inside of 50 yards as Nick Folk of the New England Patriots was 32 of 32. Add in kicking extra points, which are technically kicks from less than 50 yards, and it becomes even more difficult. In Chris Boswell’s seven-year career, only two seasons has he been perfect in extra points which were in 2016 and 2019. Throwing this in the equation and the likelihood of perfection is even lower.

Prediction: This time, I’m going to have to disagree with the scenario. It’s just too difficult. The current NFL standard for greatness as a kicker is Justin Tucker, and he has only accomplished perfection inside of 50 yards one time in his 10-year career. What’s interesting is even with his five Pro Bowls and five First-Team All-Pro selections, the year Tucker accomplished this feat was in 2014, a year he was not selected for either honor. In fact, Tucker had a second-lowest field goal percentage of his career that season as he was only four of nine from beyond 50 yards and had an 85.3% field goal accuracy. So perfection from inside of 50 is an extremely tall order to fulfill, and isn’t always the standard of a great season. Where I will go out on a limb is to say that when it comes to game-tying or game-winning field goals in the final few minutes of games I believe Boswell will be perfect up to 55 yards. Perfection from inside 50 yards is great, but being ‘clutch’ at hitting kicks when they matter the most is where I think Boswell thrives.

Check out yesterday’s ‘30 Scenarios in 30 Days’ prediction:

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black and gold as they prepare for the 2022 regular season.