Cowboys' Brandon Aubrey reveals the problem with 4-point field goal rule

5 hours ago 2

Brandon Aubrey is the best kicker in the NFL.

That doesn't automatically mean the Dallas Cowboys star wants the league to adopt the 4-point field goal rule that the UFL tried out this spring.

The rule? Any field goal of 60 yards or longer is worth four points instead of three.

On the surface, that benefits teams with kickers that have huge legs.

MORE: Brandon Aiyuk's latest decision probably ended his NFL career

Aubrey, though, points out an issue. Wouldn't you rather lose yardage and kick from 60 rather than from 58?

“I think it’s a little weird,” Aubrey told ESPN. “Kind of incentivizes you to stall the drive in a certain spot. It makes you really, really question your playcalling around that 50-yard line area. It’s interesting for kickers that have the leg to get it there, maybe [there’s] a little bit more value there. But kind of perverses the incentives of football where the goal is to get it as close to the other person’s half as possible."

Aubrey summed it up like this:

"I like it for the kickers. I think it’s a nightmare for the playcallers.”

MORE: Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson playing a funny game of chicke

For the Cowboys, Aubrey already feels like a cheat code sometimes. If his longest kicks were now worth another point, that'd be even more true.

But it would be a total game changer. Deficits would work differently. Teams would approach scoring different all game long if there was a chance for a team to win a game down three instead of just tie it, for example.

It's a cool idea, but as far as keeping the game aligned historically, it might not work out too well in the NFL.