INDIANAPOLIS — Adam Vinatieri stands alone.
The legendary Indianapolis Colts kicker today continued to cement his status as the greatest to ever play his position by converting his 566th career regular season field goal, giving him sole possession of first place on the NFL's all-time list in that category.
Vinatieri came into today's Week 4 matchup against the Houston Texans in a tie with Pro Football Hall of Famer Morten Andersen, who hit 565 field goals in his illustrious 25-year NFL career.
Vinatieri's record-breaking kick came at the 0:02 mark of the second quarter of today's game, and cut the Texans' lead to 21-10.
Leading up to today's matchup against the Texans, Vinatieri said he was hoping he could momentarily take his laser focus off the game itself so he could appreciate the historical context of becoming the league's all-time leader in made field goals — whenever it happened.
"Hopefully I'll be able to — this one, this next 10, this next however many — just sit back and enjoy," he said. "I think sometimes I get so focused in on football and the game that I don't really realize the cool factor of being in the situation that we're in right now, you know? It's like, for me, it's just a kick that helps us put points on the board to hopefully win the next game — that kind of stuff. But at some point I'll look back on it and say, 'Five hundred and sixty-some field goals — that's pretty cool.'"
Vinatieri's pursuit of Andersen isn't quite finished just yet, however.
The final cherry on top to the future Hall of Famer's career should come within a few weeks, when the four-time Super Bowl champion is expected to become the NFL's all-time leading scorer.
Vinatieri entered today's game needing just 34 points to pass Andersen's all-time mark of 2,544. At his current pace, Vinatieri should surpass Andersen on that list within the next four to five games.
