Adam Vinatieri Becomes NFL's 2nd All-Time Scoring Leader with Game-Winner in OT

Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri passed Gary Anderson on Sunday to become the NFL's second all-time leader for points and made field goals during the team's 26-23 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

SNF on NBC confirmed the former New England Patriots special teams ace's latest move up the record book by eclipsing Anderson's 2,434 points. Only Morten Andersen (2,544 points) stands between Vinatieri and the top spot on the list.

What's more, his field goal proved to be the game-winner.

Vinatieri has come a long way since failing to be selected in the 1996 NFL draft.

The 44-year-old South Dakota State product has captured four Super Bowl titles, including two in which he delivered late game-winning field goals to develop a reputation as one of the best clutch performers in sports, and three Pro Bowl selections.

He's continued to play at a remarkably high level into his mid-40s, too. Last October, he broke the NFL record for the most consecutive field goals made, a run that reached 44 before it ended.

Kevin Bowen of the Colts' official website passed along comments from the ageless kicker at the time about adding another accolade to his already jam-packed resume, which included a mention of the player he just passed on the scoring list.

"There's a lot of good kickers out there that have played a lot of games and obviously Mike Vanderjagt held the record, and I can't say enough about him—one of the most accurate kickers of all time," Vinatieri said. "Gary Anderson was the other one that was right there, too. I have huge admiration and respect for those guys and everybody else, too."

He added: "I never really think about or concern myself with personal goals and personal records and that stuff. For me, I'm happy that we won the game and that this is a little bit to go along with it. I'm sure I'll sit back some day down the road and enjoy it but just very excited that we got a win."

Looking ahead, Vinatieri's continued accuracy, including from long distances, combined with playing a low-impact position give him a chance to keep kicking for a while. So it's likely only a matter of time before he becomes the NFL's all-time leading scorer, probably during the 2018 season.

And once his illustrious career comes to a close, there will be a spot waiting for him in Canton, Ohio, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.