Washington Commanders kicker Drew Stevens entered the year carrying the weight of kickers past with him after beating out Jake Moody in camp. This past weekend, Stevens missed an extra point against the Giants, bringing his season total to 8-for-11. Three missed extra-point attempts in five games is a legitimate reason for concern. The missed extra point drew more attention this week because the game ended in a 27-27 tie.
Stevens’ field-goal numbers tell a different story. Those three PAT failures weren’t just normal misses: one was blocked after a high snap, one came from 48 yards after a penalty, and one was a standard extra point he simply missed.
The two unusual misses change the narrative. In Week 1 against the Eagles, Jalen Carter blocked his attempt after a high snap disrupted the operation. Then in Week 3 against Seattle, a celebration penalty moved the attempt back 15 yards, turning it into a 48-yard kick. Stevens missed that kick against the Seahawks, but made three other extra points and two field goals, including a 57-yarder. Both are still counted as misses, but neither happened under normal PAT circumstances.
The miss against New York came from the normal extra-point distance with no apparent issues with the snap, hold, or even protection. He just flat-out missed it, but he rebounded by hitting 28-yard and 40-yard field goals later in the game.
Stevens is 9-for-11 on field goals this season, including 7-for-7 inside 50 yards and 2-for-4 from 50 or longer, with a career-long 57-yarder. Even with the context surrounding two of his misses, 72.7% on extra points is still unacceptable. Washington has now walked away without that point three times in a season when two games were decided by two points and another ended in a tie. The Commanders don’t appear to have a broad kicking problem, but the entire extra-point operation must become more consistent. Against San Francisco, it might have to be flawless.
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