JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little did something no one else has during an NFL game: He made a 70-yard field goal.
The kick didn't count as an official NFL record because it happened in the preseason, but Little has given coach Liam Coen a reason to potentially change the way he calls plays in 2025.
Coen knew Little had a big leg -- he has seen Little hit 72 yards in practice -- but doing it at practice in controlled conditions is one thing. Hitting a 70-yard field goal in an open stadium in Florida against the Pittsburgh Steelers might cause Coen to be a little more aggressive around midfield.
Instead of just trying to get a few more yards on a long third down to set up a field goal, for example, Coen could call a shot play knowing that Little is comfortably in range from 60-plus yards.
"I mean, it's hard not to [let Little's range influence playcalling]," Coen said. "I think Trevor [Lawrence] kind of summed it up well, where it's like, I don't know if we're going to be going for 70-yarders in the first and second quarter of the game, but maybe the kick line to gain is maybe a little bit moved back for us in some ways.
"To have the ability to [attempt longer field goals], whether it's end of half, end of game, critical moments [and] we need points, you feel like you've got a weapon to go and give yourselves a chance."
Little's field goal against the Steelers would have set the NFL record by 4 yards had it happened during the regular season. (Justin Tucker has the mark at 66 yards, set in 2021.) And the kick had enough distance to be good from 3 or 4 yards longer. There have only been 39 field goals of 60 or more yards in NFL history, including a 65-yarder from the Dallas Cowboys' Brandon Aubrey last season.
The Jaguars' 2024 sixth-round pick out of Arkansas made 27 of 29 field goal attempts as a rookie last season. He made five of his six attempts from 50 or more yards, including his career long of 59 yards.
Now, Coen seems willing to expand his kicker's range to 60 or more yards.
Little can certainly handle that, his holder Logan Cooke said.
"He's got a big leg," Cooke said. "It's crazy. You look at golfers these days. You look at kickers, you look at high school baseball players throwing faster than ever. It's all this technology. Science has proven that it's not about strength as much as it is mobility, flexibility and core strength."
Little fits that description. He's 6-feet-1 and 172 pounds -- significantly smaller than the 6-5, 230-pound Cooke -- but is able to generate power because of his fundamentals, special teams coordinator Heath Farwell said.
He also has the maturity of a veteran kicker despite the fact that he turns just 22 on Sunday.
"There were times when I had to kind of remind myself [last season], 'Don't forget this guy is a rookie,'" Farwell said. "I kind of took it for granted at times. All those little things that he had never seen or never done, but I think it's a big part of those two guys, those two leaders that are next to him. Those guys [Cooke and long-snapper Ross Matiscik] just lead him, big time. They're his big brothers. They just look after him."
All three were urging Coen to allow Little to try the 70-yarder against the Steelers.
Little believes someone will become the first in NFL history to hit one that long in the regular season soon. As of today, there have been eight unsuccessful attempts in the Super Bowl era.
"You have to expect it because the bar is getting set so much higher for kickers from high school to college, college to NFL," Little said. "I think it's just evolving and guys are being able to hit the ball so much further. You would be surprised there are so many guys around the league that could hit it that distance.
"The bar is definitely set higher and there is probably going to be a guy this season who will kick a 70-plus yarder, I would bet my money on it."
He joked that having made one already puts some pressure on him to be the one, especially since he unofficially has the NFL record.
"It does suck," he said. "That means I am just going to go have to out there and make it again."