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Over the past 25 years, there's only been one season where every wild card game was decided by one score or less, but based on the matchups this weekend, we could see history repeat itself, because this could end up being one of the most competitive wild card rounds ever. 

If all the games end up being close, that means we could see kickers playing a prominent role during the Wild Card Weekend, which is good news for some teams, but not so good for other teams. 

When you have a kicker in the playoffs or in a high pressure situation, it's almost impossible to predict how they're going to react. Tyler Loop had hit 100% of his field goals (29-for-29) from 50 yards or closer during the regular season before missing a 44-yard field goal on the final play of Baltimore's 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh, a missed kick that ended up sending the Steelers to the playoffs. 

You can practice all you want, but there's simply no way to replicate the pressure that a kicker will feel on a potential game-winning field goal or the pressure he'll potentially feel on any playoff kick. 

So which teams should be worried this weekend if their game comes down a potential game-winning kick?

Teams that have a rookie or first-year kicker 

Teams: Patriots, Rams, Panthers

The Panthers will be going into the playoffs with a rookie kicker in Ryan Fitzgerald. Although he ended the season on a high note by hitting five straight field goals, the undrafted free agent hit just 82.8% of his kicks this year. He struggled from long range, hitting just 60% of his kicks from 50 yards and longer, so it will be interesting to see if the Panthers let him attempt any long range kicks. 

The Patriots will also be going into the playoffs with a rookie kicker in Andy Borregales, who was a sixth-round pick back in April. Borregalas got off to a rough start with three missed field goals in his first five games, but in New England's final 12 games, he hit 90.4% of his field goal attempts (19 of 21). Overall, he hit 84.4% of his field goals in 2025, but he hit just 73.3% from 40 yards and longer (11 of 15). 

The Rams will be going into the playoffs with Harrison Mevis. The former Missouri kicker was signed in November to replace Joshua Karty, who hit just 66.7% of his kicks in eight games. Mevis has been nearly perfect since taking the job, hitting 12 of his 13 field goal attempts, but his one miss came in crunch time: He missed a 48-yarder against the Seahawks with just over two minutes left to play during the fourth quarter of the Rams' 38-37 loss back in Week 16. 

KEY STAT TO KNOW: According to research from NFL Media, rookie and first-year kickers have hit just 48% of their field goals over the past 25 years on game-winning attempts that have come when their team is trailing by 1 to 3 points in the final 10 seconds of a game. As we saw with Loop, young kickers can struggle in big situations so if any of these three kickers end up attempting a game-winning kick, you'll definitely want to make sure you're watching. 

Teams that have a kicker playing in the postseason for the first time that should be worried

Teams: Jaguars, 49ers, Patriots, Rams, Panthers

If you're a rookie or first-year kicker, you're obviously kicking in the playoffs for the first time, so the Patriots, Rams and Panthers are once again added to this list, but now, we've also added two more teams: The Jaguars and 49ers. 

For Jacksonville, Cam Little has been a human highlight film this year. Little hit the longest field goal in NFL history back in Week 9 when he drilled a 68-yard field kick against the Raiders. 

He then followed that up in Week 18 by drilling the second-longest field goal in NFL history with a 67-yarder against the Titans. The playoff record for longest field goal is 58 yards and it won't be surprising if we see Little break that this weekend. 

Little has a booming leg and he's also incredibly accurate from close range: He was 18 of 18 from 45 yards and in during the 2025 season. On the other hand, he hit just 75% of his kicks from 46 yards and longer and three of his four misses this year came at home, which is where Jacksonville will be playing on Sunday against the Bills, so that will be something to keep an eye on. 

Little is in just his second NFL season, so it's no surprise that he's kicking in his first playoff game. The same can't be said for Eddy Piniero. The 49ers kicker has been in the NFL since 2019, but this will be his first playoff game. Since signing with the 49ers in September, Piniero has been nearly perfect. He hit 28 of 29 field goals (96.6%) with his only miss coming on a 64-yard attempt that hit the crossbar. 

If Pineiro does have one weakness, it's extra points. He hit just 89.5% of his attempts this year, which was the second-worst percentage for any kicker who played in at least 10 games. Pineiro ranked just behind Carolina's Ryan Fitzgerald, who hit 90% of his extra points. 

KEY STAT TO KNOW: Kickers in their first playoff game have hit 80% of their attempts over the past 25 years, which is an accuracy rate that would have ranked 26th in the NFL this year. The more concerning stat over that same span is that kickers playing in their first postseason game have hit just 54.5% of potential game-tying or go ahead field goals in the fourth quarter or overtime, according to the CBS Sports Research team. 

Teams that have a kicker who struggles in the playoffs

Teams: Chargers, Texans

These are kickers who have seen their regular-season accuracy rate drop by at least 10 percentage points in the playoffs. 

Cameron Dicker is the most accurate kicker in NFL history with a hit rate of 93.5%, but he's struggled in the playoffs hitting just 83.3% of his field goals. Dicker has played in two career postseason games and he missed one kick in each game. He missed a 40-yard field goal during the fourth quarter of a 31-30 loss to the Jaguars in January 2022. Last year, he had an extra point blocked in a 32-12 loss to the Texans. Although Dicker had another strong year in 2025, he did miss a field goal AND an extra point in the Chargers' 20-16 loss to the Texans back in Week 17.

Speaking of the Texans, Ka'imi Fairbairn is another name to watch in the postseason. The Houston veteran is the seventh most accurate kicker in NFL history at 87.6%, but he's hit just 71.4% of his playoff field goals. In a 23-14 playoff loss to the Chiefs last year, Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field goal and he had a 35-yarder blocked. In his last five playoffs games, he's hit just 8 of 12 field goal attempts (66.7%). The more concerning part for the Texans is that all of Fairbairn's postseason misses have come on the road. He's hit just 50% of his field goals (4 of 8) in three road playoff games and the Texans will be on the road for the wild card round with a game on Monday night in Pittsburgh. Acrisure Stadium is a notoriously tough place to kick, something that Tyler Loop round out in Week 18. 

NOTE: Jason Myers (Seahawks) and Wil Lutz (Broncos) would also fall into this category, but neither guy will be kicking this weekend since they're on a bye. 

Kickers who have thrived in the playoffs

Teams: Steelers, Eagles, Bills, Packers, Bears 

This is definitely the category you want to be in and we've got five teams. Let's take a look at the career playoff percentage for the guys in this category: 

Boswell has the third-most field goals in NFL playoff history without a miss, so the Steelers will probably be feeling confident any time he steps on the field. Santos is sixth on that same list and he could move up to fourth if he attempts at least three field goals during this postseason and makes them all. 

On the Eagles' end, Jake Elliott struggled this year, hitting just 74.1% of his field goals, which was the second-worst percentage for anyone who played at least 10 games. However, Elliott has been Mr. Clutch in the playoffs. After hitting 77.8% of his kicks last season, he bounced back to hit 90.9% during Philly's Super Bowl run in 2024. Elliott has the fourth-highest field goal percentage in NFL history for any kicker with more than 10 playoff attempts, and over his career, he's proven that he's one of the most clutch playoff kickers in league history, no matter how he performs in the regular season. 

As for Prater, he has strong numbers, but he only has one playoff attempt over the past eight years. He's also been dealing with a hamstring injury and an injury like that can sometimes cause issues for a kicker, so that could certainly play a factor in any possible struggles. 

In Green Bay, McManus only has one career playoff miss, but it did come last year  on his first career playoff attempt for the Packers in a 22-10 loss to the Eagles. 

There will almost certainly be at least one game that comes down to a field goal this weekend and if that happens, some teams will certainly be feeling more confident than others.