Raiders' Daniel Carlson Kicks His Way Up the List

The Las Vegas Raiders Daniel Carlson has become the model of excellence and consistency around the National Football League, and the Silver and Black.

Quarterback Derek Carr of the Las Vegas already has broken Kenny “Snake” Stabler’s franchise passing records by a mile with his 32,797 passing yards and 201 touchdown passes, and perhaps could put his numbers out of reach.

Kicker Daniel Carlson is another Raider who eventually could be on top in franchise annals, if he stays with the team and maintains his current pace, but he has a long way to go since kicker Sebastian Janikowski had such a long run with the Silver and Black.

The 6-5, 215-pound Carlson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round (No. 167 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Auburn, but was released by the Vikings after he missed three field goals in a game against the Green Bay Packers as a rookie.

The Raiders snapped him up and he has been spectacular in a little under five seasons.

“He’s had a great career since we cut him, and he’ll continue to have a great career and may go down as one of the best kickers in NFL history,” said former Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman. “That I do regret. We made a mistake.”

For one thing, Carlson has made his last 38 field goal attempts without a miss and is chasing the NFL record of 44 in a row set by Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts set 2016, and Carlson leads the league in scoring with 53 points, including 15 field goals and eight extra points this season.

After not yet five seasons with the Raiders, Carlson ranks seventh in Raiders history with 504 points on 123 field goals and 135 field goals.

Carlson is chasing the franchise record of 1,799 points of 414 field goals and 557 extra points set by Janikowski, nicknamed “Seabass,” in from 2000-17.

Carlson should be able to catch No. 2 George Blanda, who had 863 points on 156 field goals and 395 extra points from 1967-75, No. 3 Chris Bahr, who made 162 field goals and 331 extra points for 817 points from 1980-88, and No. 4 Jeff Jaeger connected on 152 field goals and 211 extra points for 667 points from 1989-95.

Directly ahead of Carlson on the list for now are No. 5, wide receiver Tim Brown with 104 touchdowns for 626 points, and No. 6, running back Marcus Allen with 98 touchdowns for 588 points.

If Carlson remains healthy and sticks around with the Raiders, who knows how high he can go?

“Daniel has really come through in the clutch obviously for this team in the past and continues to do so for us now,” Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels said. “So, I have all the confidence in the world in him.

“You send him out there, you expect the scoreboard to change and that’s generally what he’s done. You just know he’s going to come through for you.”

Carlson’s best game for the Raiders probably came in the final game of 2021 regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers, when he kicked field goals of 24, 31, 52, 40 and 47, the last two in overtime including the 47-yarder with no time left to give Las Vegas a 35-32 victory at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. That send Las Vegas to the playoffs.

Carlson’s first field goal in the opening quarter of that game gave him the Raiders record for three-pointers in one season, breaking record of 35 set by Jaeger in 1993, and he stretched the regular-season mark to 40 by the end of the game. He finished the season with 40 made field goals in 43 attempts, 93 percent, another record that he threatens to beat this season.

Many of Carlson’s kicks in 2021 came when the Raiders really needed them, as he made five walk-off field goals.

“I really smoked that one,” Carlson has told holder A.J. Cole more than once.

Carlson has made all 15 of his field goal attempts in five games this season and is on pace to challenge the NFL record of 44 field goals in one season set by David Akers of the San Francisco 49ers, set in 2011. Carlson is second with 40 last season.

Of course, Carlson is a team player and would like to see the Raiders score a few more touchdowns when they get into the Red Zone.

The Raiders have a bye week for Week 6 of the NFL season. They return to action in Week 7 when they host the Houston Texans. That game kicks off at 1:05 p.m. PDT and can be seen on CBS.

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