Jaguars kicker Cam Little etched his name into the NFL record book before halftime in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Little made the longest field goal in league history when he drilled a 68-yard kick as time expired in the second quarter. The kick turned out to be an appetizer for a wild finish as the two teams scored 15 points through three quarters and then scored 44 points in the fourth quarter of a 30-29 Jaguars win, but things circled back to Little when all was said and done.
Little had missed three kicks in two games before the bye, but he made a 70-yarder in the preseason and the Jags didn’t hesitate to give him the chance to break Justin Tucker’s record on Sunday. Little said the team “has instilled so much confidence in me” by sticking with him and he said making the kick was a rather simple piece of business from his perspective.
“It’s like, ‘Kick it straight enough, kick it long enough, and it goes in,’ simply put,” Little said, via the team’s website. “We’re playing indoors, and we’re on natural grass. You kick it long enough and you kick it straight enough, it’s going to go in.”
Given the current kicking trends around the league, Little may not hold the record for long but his record says he might also be the guy who winds up breaking it again.
Jaguars kicker Cam Little broke the NFL record with a 68-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. It broke the old mark of 66 that Justin Tucker kicked for the Ravens against the Lions in 2021.
But Little’s biggest kick was a 48-yarder with 16 seconds left in regulation that tied the game 23-23.
The Jaguars then won in overtime, beating the Raiders 30-29. Jacksonville broke its two-game losing streak and improved to 5-3, while Las Vegas fell to 2-6.
The Jaguars won the overtime coin toss and elected to receive. It is the first time under the new format that a team has chosen to receive to start overtime. The three other teams that won the overtime coin toss chose to kickoff.
Jaguars kick returner Austin Trammell returned Daniel Carlson’s kickoff 54 yards to the Las Vegas 44 before the kicker tackled him. They went 44 yards in 10 plays before Trevor Lawrence leaped and reached across the goal line on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Jacksonville left only 3:24 on the clock for the Raiders, who used all but 16 to get within a point on Brock Bowers’ third touchdown of the night. They decided to go for the win, and Geno Smith’s pass on the 2-point conversion was batted down at the line of scrimmage.
Bowers, playing for the first time since Week 4, returned and reminded everyone why he made the All-Pro team as a rookie. The Raiders tight end caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns.
The teams played one of the worst first halves of the season, memorable only for Little’s record-setting kick. The rest of the game, though, was a different story as the teams combined for 37 points in the second half and another 13 in overtime.
The Jaguars outgained the Raiders 367 to 331.
Lawrence ran for two touchdowns and went 23-of-34 for 220 yards and an interception. Travis Etienne ran 22 times for 84 yards, and Parker Washington caught eight passes for 90 yards.
Smith was 29-of-39 for 284 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. Ashton Jeanty had a touchdown reception.
Officials have ejected Jaguars defensive lineman Travon Walker for unnecessary roughness.
Walker threw a violent punch that landed in the facemask of Stone Forsythe, who also was penalized on the play. The fouls offset, but Walker was the only player officials kicked out. The fracas came after Daniel Carlson’s 24-yard field goal gave the Raiders a 9-6 lead with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
Walker had a surgical procedure on his wrist a month ago.
Walker was penalized but not ejected for throwing a punch in a 2024 game against the Vikings. The NFL fined him $11,817 for the violent act deemed unnecessary roughness.
The Raiders and Jaguars are playing one of the worst games in the NFL this season, but it will be forever remembered for one thing.
Cam Little kicked a 68-yard field goal on the final play of the half, setting an NFL record. The previous long was the 66-yarder that Justin Tucker kicked for the Ravens on Sept. 26, 2021, to beat the Lions.
Little kicked a 70-yarder in a preseason game against the Steelers in August.
Little’s long boot has drawn the Jaguars to within 6-3 of the Raiders at halftime.
The Jaguars mobbed him before leaving the field for the locker room.
Las Vegas put the first points on the board with Geno Smith’s 7-yard throw to Brock Bowers with 35 seconds left in the half. Daniel Carlson missed the extra point, leaving the Raiders with a 6-0 lead.
Bowers is playing his first game since Week 1 when he injured his knee. He has four catches for 41 yards. His one-handed catch for a touchdown initially was ruled incomplete, but replay showed his left foot landing and then his backside before he went out of bounds.
The Raiders outgained the Jaguars 153 to 136 in the first half.
Smith was 14-of-20 for 113 yards and a touchdown, and Ashton Jeanty had seven carries for 38 yards.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 12 of 19 passes for 100 yards and an interception.
The Jaguars had two punts, an interception and a field goal on their four first-half possessions, while the Raiders turned it over on downs at the Jacksonville 37, punted and scored a touchdown on their three possessions.
NFL teams are justifiably being more careful about the injury reporting rules. And it would be wise to leave nothing to chance.
The Jaguars, for instance, have disclosed the quarterback Trevor Lawrence has an illness. He was given no designation beyond that, which means he will play.
Jacksonville has lost two in a row since beating the Chiefs on a Monday night in Week 5. They were off in Week 8.
Later this afternoon, the Jaguars face the Raiders in Las Vegas. If the Jaguars lose to the Raiders and fall to 4-4, Lawrence will have another reason to be sick.
