Following the Los Angeles Rams beating the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, head coach Sean McVay said about the current field goal issues, “It’s cost us already and it’s been a momentum killer. The truth of it is this is not sustainable to continuously go where we want to go.” McVay continued on Monday saying, “I’ve been pleased,” when asked about special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn about how he’s handled the field goal issues and special teams unit.
However, both of those statements cannot simultaneously exist simultaneously. McVay cannot say that the current level is not sustainable while also being pleased with the coaching and having confidence in the kicker.
At some point a change has to be made. The easy thing to do is to point the finger at Joshua Karty. When the ball doesn’t go through the goal posts, the natural thing is to blame the player kicking the ball. However, similar to when a quarterback throws an interception, the interception is not always on the quarterback. It’s not always as simple as, “The ball didn’t go through the uprights, so it must be the kicker’s fault.” While Karty certainly needs to be better, there are other aspects of the field goal unit that affect the kicker’s responsibility.
Karty has had four kicks blocked this season and the longest of which was a 43-yard field goal that would have won the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s a protection issue and independent of the kicker. During Karty’s missed extra point against the Saints, holder Ethan Evans placed the ball with the laces facing the kicker. That caused the ball to shank left as Karty kicked it. It’s yet another miss that is independent of the actual kicker.
The Rams could go out and sign a Greg Joseph, Younghoe Koo, or Rodrigo Blankenship, but would that solve the core issue? For much of the last three years, the Rams have had an issue with the field goal unit. Back in 2023, the Rams signed Tanner Brown and Christopher Dunn as undrafted free agents to compete in training camp. Neither player made the final 53-man roster.
As a band-aid, the Rams signed an experienced player in Brett Maher who was released after missing three kicks against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following the Rams cutting Maher, former Rams kicker Matt Gay endorsed Lucas Havrisik as the two played together with the Indianapolis Colts. Havrisik was cut before the playoffs and the Rams brought back Maher. Two weeks ago, Havrisik made a 61-yard field goal for the Green Bay Packers.
In 2023, the Rams had one of the worst special teams units in NFL history, led mostly by their field goal unit. The Rams missed 11 field goals and 15 total kicks, both led the NFL. Their 11 missed field goals were more than any team since 2015. The Rams had a field goal/extra point DVOA of -17.7 which was over three points worse than the next lowest. Field goal DVOA compares each field goal to the league-average percentage of field goals from that distance.
To solve the field goal issues, the Rams selected arguably the best kicker in the draft in Joshua Karty. Karty played at Stanford where he consistently hit from long-range and showed high arc on his kicks with a repeatable stroke. At Stanford, Karty made 11 of his 51 field goals from 50 yards or more, including a 61-yard field goal to beat Cal. His lone issue at Stanford was that many of his misses came from the left hash.
Karty struggled from the left hash in the early part of last season, going 4-for-7 compared to 12-for-14 from the right hash. It’s worth noting that only one of Karty’s misses this season has come from the left hash. The Rams kicker started 16-for-21 and missed two extra points before missing just two field goals after Week 13. Karty seemed to turn it around.
We’re now in 2025, and for a third consecutive season, the field goal unit is a primary topic of discussion. The Rams have five missed field goals this season which leads the NFL. Again, the Rams have had four kicks blocked and Karty is 10-for-15 and has missed three extra points. However, those misses do not account for the blocked kicks and bad hold. They are simply placed on Karty. Removing the blocks and bad hold, Karty would be 10-for-12 on field goals this year and a perfect 23-for-23 on extra points. If that is Karty’s season right now, not many are saying that the kicker is an issue.
Mike Sando from The Athletic recently put together a table ranking all 32 teams by per-game EPA differential on field goals this season. It’s no surprise that the Rams came in last. Their -1.9 field goal EPA per game is three times worse than the next lowest. Their opponent field goal EPA per game of 2.0 is the most. No team has a differential worse than -2.1 and the Rams are nearly twice as bad. The gap between the Rams at 32 and Falcons at 31 is the same as the Steelers at four and the Bills at 15.
To recap, the Rams had a historically bad special teams unit and one of the worst field goal units in 2023. That doesn’t mention that they had five different kickers and Maher’s second stint counts for a sixth. The Rams had a field goal DVOA of -17.7 while no other team was below -15. In 2024, the Rams ranked 20th in field goal DVOA and after week 12, their special teams DVOA as a whole ranked 29th. This season, the Rams once again rank last in field goal DVOA at -11.2. No other team is below -10.
The one constant through all of this has been special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn. Blackburn has been given five different kickers, yet hasn’t developed any of them. Again, that doesn’t include Maher’s second stint which would count for six kickers. Under Blackburn, the Rams have had a historically bad field goal unit, an inconsistent field goal unit, and now the Rams are back to a bad field goal unit. At what point does the blame shift from Karty to Blackburn?
If the field goal operation isn’t up to par and has consistently let down the kicker, it would only make sense for that to affect Karty mentally. After four blocked field goals, how much does he trust the protection up front? Karty hesitated on his miss against the Saints. Was he conscious about the hold after the previous one came down with the laces facing him?
As mentioned previously, the Rams could go out and sign Joseph or Koo and do this dance all over again. They could give Blackburn a seventh kicker, but what does that solve? Is that player going to be in charge of the protection? Will they be responsible for the hold? Are they coaching themselves, ensuring that they have clean fundamentals?
It’s fair to question whether or not Blackburn has ruined Karty. However, that’s all the more reason to say that if Karty goes, Blackburn has to go as well. The Rams can’t just simply change kickers when the special teams coordinator hasn’t proven to make the previous six work.
The Rams can do the dance of having a kicker carousel this season, select the best kicker in the upcoming draft and debate whether taking one with a premium pick on day two is worth it, and do the process all over again. At the same time, does that actually solve anything?
Blackburn is in his seventh season as a special teams coordinator. He’s had a bottom-10 unit in DVOA in three of those, two of which have been as the 32nd and 31st ranked units. Blackburn’s special teams ratings via PFF aren’t much better. He has four units in the bottom-10, including three in the bottom-five.
This isn’t to say that the Rams’ special teams has been all bad this year. Their average opponent drive start on kickoffs is the third-best in the NFL. Ethan Evans has also arguably been a top-10 punter. However, the field goal unit has consistently been a problem under Blackburn.
If McVay wanted to make a change at coordinator, the Rams are set up well to do so. As the assistant special teams coordinator behind Blackburn, the Rams have Ben Kotwica who has ten years of experience as a special teams coordinator. This is a change from last year when the Rams didn’t have an assistant behind Blackburn after losing Jeremy Springer to the New England Patriots.
With that said, Kotwica was fired by the Broncos with one reason being issues with the field goal protection. In a Week 10 loss, the Kansas City Chiefs found a weakness in the Broncos’ front and over-loaded the left side of the line, blocking a potential game-winning 35-yard field goal by Will Lutz. However, after making an adjustment to the protection, Lutz made 41 of his final 42 field-goal and extra-point attempts the remainder of the season.
Still, Kotwica has coached three bottom-10 units via PFF and only has four seasons with a special team unit ranking inside the top-half of the NFL. However, since DVOA data going back to 2018, Kotwica has three top-10 units in five seasons, including the ninth and fourth ranked special teams in 2023 and 2024.
It makes sense that if there is a change, for the Rams to fire Blackburn and see how Karty and the field goal unit perform under a new coordinator. If Karty still struggles and the field goal unit doesn’t improve, the Rams can start from scratch and change everything in the offseason. It just doesn’t make sense to get rid of a promising kicker when Blackburn’s field goal units have consistently struggled.
McVay has never made a coordinator change in-season. While the Rams lost Ra’Shaad Samples in 2022, he was only a position coach, coaching running backs. Making a coordinator change isn’t as simple. However, with an experienced coach in Kotwica behind Blackburn, the Rams are prepared for it.
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