Kickers experience extreme highs and extreme lows, but they usually don't experience both in the final 1:09 of regulation.
When Arizona's Jay Feely hit a career-best 61-yard field goal to tie Sunday's game against Buffalo, it was inconceivable that by the time the fourth quarter ended he'd be the Cardinals' goat.
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Arizona faced fourth and 10 in the fourth quarter and a choice: send out Feely for a field goal that seemed out of his range and was just 2 yards short of the NFL record, or go for it with a cold John Skelton, who just had come in for an injured starting quarterback Kevin Kolb. Arizona took a shot on Feely. And he not only hit the field goal, he had plenty of room to spare. It was one of the best kicks you'll see, considering the circumstances. The thrill didn't last long.
The Bills ran all of 23 seconds off the clock before they had to punt again. Skelton hit Larry Fitzgerald for a 28-yard catch that set up a much easier field goal for Feely. 38 yards. Feely had plenty of experiences in situations like this over his 12 NFL seasons. Two weeks ago he hit an overtime game-winner against Miami. On Sunday, Feely was going to go from hero to mega-hero.
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Feely, who had hit 11 of his first 12 field-goal attempts to start the season, bounced the potential game-winner off the goal post. He told reporters after the game that the field goal was tipped by Bills tackle Alex Carrington, and he couldn't remember having another field goal blocked or defended since 2006.
In overtime, Skelton threw a back-breaking interception to Jairus Byrd.
There was no miracle miss for the Cardinals after Byrd's big play. Bills kicker Rian Lindell hit the easy game winner.
So instead of talking about his career-long 61-yard field goal, Feely was left to answer questions about the one he missed.
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