8 Most Embarrassing Kicker Moments in NFL History

It's impossible not to feel sympathy for kickers in the NFL. They are only remembered either for successful clutch conversions or embarrassing failures. The sad fact for kickers is that it's the embarrassing failures that linger longest in NFL folklore. Just ask Scott Norwood.

Gary Anderson was one of the most proficient kickers in league history. Yet he will always be associated with the miss that cost the 1998 Minnesota Vikings a Super Bowl berth.

Then there is the Hall of Fame nominee who may best be remembered for complaining that the footballs were too cold to kick. Here are the eight most embarrassing kicker moments in NFL history.

8. Nick Lowery Complains That the Footballs Are Too Cold and Slaps Ball Boy

Many fans will be critical of quarterbacks and wide receivers who complain about taking big hits. It's easy to do when you're not the one taking the hits. However, there can be no sympathy at all for a kicker who complains the footballs were too cold to kick.

Yet that's just what then-New York Jets kicker Nick Lowery did during a late 1995 AFC East clash with the New England Patriots. Lowery complained that nobody at Foxboro stadium was making an effort to keep the football warm in 26-degree weather.

The scarcely believable situation then escalated until Lowery felt the need to slap Patriots ball boy David Foscaldo. Despite an illustrious career, Lowery will always find it hard to escape the memory of this particular farce

7. Rich Karlis Sets Two Super Bowl Records

In Super Bowl 21, Denver's bare-footed kicker Rich Karlis did his best to create suspense in a game in which the Broncos were heavy underdogs against a powerful New York Giants team.

His day began by kicking a then-Super Bowl record 48-yard field goal. Yet after successfully converting the longest kick in title game history up to that point, Karlis went on to set a very different mark.

He missed two short-range kicks that could have put the Broncos into a 16-7 lead early. In the process Karlis managed to fail with a 23-yard attempt, giving him the shortest miss in Super Bowl history.

6. Mike Vanderjagt Psyches Hismself out in the 2005/6 AFC Divisional Playoffs

Kickers are often associated with quirky and outlandish personalities. The most notable recent example of a cocky kicker was Mike Vanderjagt who kicked for the Indianapolis Colts from 1998 to 2006.

Never shy with his opinions, Vanderjagt even criticised Peyton Manning for failing to deliver come playoff time. Karma was just waiting for a chance to humble the brash kicker.

The opportunity came in the AFC divisional playoffs of the 2005/6 season. The Colts were hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers and had just given themselves a second chance of winning after they had forced and recovered a Jerome Bettis fumble.

The usually automatic Vanderjagt confidently strutted onto the field to calmly slot home the winning field goal. Then-Steelers coach Bill Cowher did the only thing he had left to do and called a timeout to try and ice Vanderjagt.

In a typically smug reaction, Vanderjagt pointed a finger at Cowher in a dismissive and overconfident manner. The act show just how sure of himself Vanderjagt was.

Yet Vanderjagt's assurance must have run out by the time he stepped into the kick, which he pushed wide of the uprights to ensure the Colts elimination.

5. Jason Garrett Ices His Own Kicker, December 2011

People often like to believe that times have become more sophisticated and maybe they're right. In today's NFL, kicker follies are no longer just about crucial misses, botched snaps and bad holds.

Instead they now include the bizarre incident of a coach psyching out his own kicker. In a December showdown between the Arizona Cardinals and the playoff chasing Dallas Cowboys, Dallas coach Jason Garrett inexplicably did just that.

The Cowboys appeared to have sealed a vital victory after rookie Dan Bailey had converted a 49-yard field goal. However, the kick was wiped out because Garrett had called a timeout just as Bailey was about to connect with the ball.

The delay clearly got to Bailey who promptly missed his re-kick, possibly due to the fact that a good portion of his mind was dedicated to the question of what his coach was doing and why? Seriously, why?

The Cowboys had lost a pivotal game thanks to a tactic usually reserved for the opposition. Seriously, why?

4. Scott Norwodd Misses THAT Kick in Super Bowl 25

No kick in league history is more famous than Scott Norwood missing what would have been the game winner in Super Bowl 25. In another case of kicking failures outshining successes, Norwood's miss is more famous than Adam Vinatieri's title game winner years later for the New England Patriots.

The underdog New York Giants had methodically nudged themselves into a one-point lead over the high-powered Buffalo Bills. Yet late on the Giants' hybrid nickel defenses were unable to stop Buffalo's no-huddle offense from moving into position for the decisive kick.

Scott Norwood took to the field with eight seconds remaining faced with the prospect of converting a 47-yarder to win the Super Bowl. Despite stepping into the kick and making a good connection, Norwood saw his kick drift agonisingly wide right.

It was a fitting way for the 1990 New York Giants, who were the game's classic spoilers, to lift the trophy. Yet it was a heartbreaking loss for a young Bills team who all linked hands along the sideline and together watched the kick sail wide.

Norwood's record of 1-for-5 from 40-plus yards on grass, perhaps making the miss inevitable, is the only thing that prevents this moment of kicking infamy from being higher on the list.

3. After Being Successful All Year, Gary Anderson Misses the One That Matters

Sometimes moments in sports can manage to seem inevitable and at the same time still surprise when they actually happen. One such moment occurred in the 1999 NFC Championship game involving kicker Gary Anderson.

After having not missed a kick of any kind all season for the Minnesota Vikings, Anderson only needed to make one more to secure victory over the Atlanta Falcons and safe passage to the Super Bowl. When a guy is noted for never missing it's hard to escape the feeling that it would just be typical for him to miss such a crucial kick.

Yet Anderson was so accurate that despite the feeling of impending doom, it was still hard to believe he'd do anything else other than calmly place the ball straight down the middle of the uprights. However, that's exactly what happened as the man with the most successful kicks of anyone in league history pushed his 38-yard attempt wide left.

Aside from the obvious embarrassment for a kicker known to be automatic, missing when it counts the most, it's a great shame that a career otherwise as prolific as Anderson's will always be defined by this gaffe.

2. Neil O'Donoghue Swing and a Miss for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1978

The abiding image of the pre-pewter power Tampa Bay Buccaneers is sadly all too often encapsulated by kicker Neil O'Donoghue's comedy of errors against the Minnesota Vikings in 1978.

After an overly aggressive snap sails straight over the head of the holder, O'Donoghue makes a valiant, if a little too frantic, attempt to rescue the situation and the ball. He unfortunately opts to kick the loose pigskin for reasons beyond all understanding.

His wild swing threatens nothing but air and his calamity is complete as O'Donoghue stumbles to the ground. The play came to symbolise what we mean when we think of football's follies.

1. Garo Yepremien's Attempt to Save a Blocked Kick in Super Bowl 7

It perfectly sums up the impact that embarrassing kicking moments can have in the history of the game that the only undefeated season in the league's annals is perhaps best remembered for a blunder.

Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremien set the most unwanted of exclamation points on his team's perfect 1972-3 season, thanks to his ill-fated attempts to pass the ball. In a cruel twist of fate, the Dolphins were denied their attempt to seal a 17-0 season with a 17-0 scoreline against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl Seven.

Yepremien's late kick was blocked and when he attempted to pass, the ball slipped out of his hands. He then inexplicably batted it back up into the air and right into the grateful hands of Mike Bass.

There is no better example of how one kicking mistake can threaten to overshadow solid play and true achievement in the game.