How Can Oakland Raiders Take Advantage of New PAT Rule Changes?

The Oakland Raiders' history has branded the franchise as a rebellious, mercurial bunch standing out as an outcast from the rest of the NFL.

That trend continued when the Raiders were one of two teams that voted against the point-after-attempt proposal in the offseason per USA Today's Lindsay Jones:



 

Rule Changes

What exactly did Oakland vote against and why?

NFL.com writer Kevin Patra sums up the crux of the new changes:

The NFL announced the extra point will now be kicked from the 15-yard line with two-point conversions remaining at the 2-yard line. The new rule also gives the defense the ability to score two points on returns.

According to the rule change, if the defense returns a blocked extra point or failed two-point try for a touchdown (i.e. on an interception), they will be awarded two points. Under the previous rule the ball was dead on a failed try.

NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino said teams could change their attempt decision if a penalty occurs. For instance, if a team chooses to go for two points and is called for an offensive penalty, they could then decide to kick a 1-point try. 

 

Reactions

Sounds pretty mundane right? Who cares about an extra point? Well, kickers around the league who play the game see these new rule changes as a bigger deal than most outsiders. 

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker makes an observation on how it affects his job, per Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com: 

I think the idea is to add excitement to every single play, but really what it does is make every kicker’s job a little bit harder. ...

The guys that do well with it, it increases their value. Guys that are good kickers will find a way to adjust and get the job done. And that’s what I plan on doing.

Free-agent kicker Jay ...

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