At the end of the first half on Monday night, Sebastian Janikowski lined up for what was called at the time, a 63 yard, record tying field goal. In the midst of a night full of random downpoors, Janikowski booted the ball just through the left up right, but with what looked like a couple of yards to spare.
This left many Raiders fans wishing that the Raiders had gotten just one less yard on their drive so that Janikowski’s field goal would have been from a record breaking distance as opposed to a record tying distance. Now, it appears as though the Raiders are doing more than just wishing.
The Raiders are planning to apeal the official distance of the field goal, claiming that it was spotted from 64 yards out, not just 63. If the NFL decides to change the official distance, it will mean that Sebastian Janikowski would be awarded the record for the longest field goal in NFL history, days after he had already made the field goal.
In an interview after the game, Janikowski said that the night before, he had a dream that he broke the record. While he was certainly happy to have tied it, it appears that his dream of breaking the record still may have come true.
Janikowski also said that he had three goals when he started playing in the NFL. The first was to be in the league for at least ten years, something he has already accomplished. The second was to tie or break the record for the longest field goal. Even if the appeal is unsuccessful, with the way Janikowski was kicking in the preseason and on Monday night, he could easily accomplish breaking and not just tying the record this season.
Janikowski’s final goal was to win a Super Bowl. While this goal is going to be more difficult for Janikowski to achieve this season, one thing is for sure, the Raiders have a Super Bowl caliber kicker playing for them.