New Year’s Day, 2006. The New England Patriots were playing the Miami Dolphins in a game that, frankly, didn't matter much for the standings. Most fans were probably checking their fantasy scores or nursing a holiday hangover. Then, Doug Flutie walked onto the field. He wasn't there to throw a Hail Mary or bark out signals for a kneel-down. He stood in the shotgun, took the snap, and did something that felt like a glitch in the Matrix. He dropped the ball, let it hit the turf, and kicked it through the uprights.
That was the last drop kick in the NFL.
It felt like a fever dream. If you were watching live, the announcers were scrambling to explain what just happened. Even Bill Belichick—a man who treats football history like a sacred religious text—had a smirk on his face. It was the first successful drop kick in a regular-season game since 1941. We’re talking about a gap of 64 years. One kick effectively bridged the gap between the leather-helmet era and the modern billion-dollar spectacle.
What Actually Happened with the Last Drop Kick in the NFL?
Doug Flutie was 43 years old. He was at the very end of a legendary, wandering career that spanned the USFL, CFL, and several NFL teams. He was basically the Patriots' backup, a veteran presence. But Belichick knew Flutie could do it. Flutie had been messing around with drop kicks in practice for years.
During the fourth quarter, with the Patriots trailing and the outcome largely irrelevant, Belichick sent Flutie in for an extra point.
The mechanics are weird. You don't have a holder. In a standard placekick, the snapper zips it to the holder, who sets it down. In a drop kick, the kicker takes the snap directly, drops the ball, and must strike it immediately after it touches the ground. If you hit it before it hits the dirt, it's a punt. If you wait too long after the bounce, it’s a dead ball or a botched play.
💡 You might also like: What Channel is Champions League on: Where to Watch Every Game in 2026
Flutie timed it perfectly. The ball wobbled through the air, barely clearing the crossbar, but it counted. The stadium went nuts. The Dolphins players were literally laughing on the field because they knew they had just become a footnote in a history book.
Why did it go away in the first place?
To understand why the last drop kick in the NFL happened so long ago, you have to look at the ball itself. Back in the 1920s and 30s, the football was different. It was rounder. It looked more like a fat watermelon than the streamlined "prolate spheroid" we use today. Because it was stubby, it bounced predictably. If you dropped it, it came right back up to your foot like a basketball.
Then came the "The Duke." As the NFL moved toward a passing game, the ball became slimmer and pointier to help quarterbacks grip it and spin it. The trade-off? The bounce became chaotic. If you drop a modern Wilson NFL ball today, it might bounce left, right, or just dead-flop on its nose. Trying to drop kick today is basically gambling with your career.
The Belichick Factor and Tactical Nostalgia
Why would a coach as serious as Bill Belichick waste a point on a stunt? Honestly, it wasn't just a stunt. Belichick has a deep-seated obsession with the "Third Phase" of the game—special teams. He knew the rulebook allowed it. He knew Flutie could do it.
There's also a weird roster advantage. If a team has a player who can drop kick, they technically don't need a holder. That frees up a body for blocking or a different formation. But let's be real: the last drop kick in the NFL was mostly about a coach giving a legendary player a "tip of the cap" before retirement.
📖 Related: Eastern Conference Finals 2024: What Most People Get Wrong
Ray McLean of the Chicago Bears was the guy who did it before Flutie. That was in the 1941 NFL Championship game. Since Flutie's 2006 moment, a few people have tried to bring it back. Drew Brees tried to drop kick an extra point in the 2012 Pro Bowl, but it was blocked. It didn't count for the record books anyway because the Pro Bowl is an exhibition.
Is the drop kick still legal?
Yes. It’s still in the official NFL Rulebook under Rule 3, Section 18, Article 1, Item 1. You can drop kick for a field goal, an extra point, or even a kickoff (though nobody does that).
The problem is the risk-to-reward ratio. In a league where kickers like Justin Tucker can hit from 60 yards with 99% accuracy using a holder, why would anyone risk a random bounce? It’s a dead art. It’s the calligraphy of football—beautiful, impressive, but totally unnecessary in an era of high-speed printing.
Why We Won't See Another One Soon
Modern NFL coaching is terrified of "unforced errors." A drop kick is the definition of an unforced error waiting to happen. If a kicker tries a drop kick and muffs the bounce, he’s getting cut the next morning.
Also, look at the specialization. Kickers today are like surgeons. They have a specific three-step approach. They have a holder who spins the laces out to the exact millimeter. They have a long snapper who delivers the ball with the same number of rotations every single time. Introducing the variable of a "natural bounce" on grass or even turf goes against everything modern sports science stands for.
👉 See also: Texas vs Oklahoma Football Game: Why the Red River Rivalry is Getting Even Weirder
There was a brief moment of hope for drop kick fans when Michael Dickson, the Seahawks' punter, came into the league. Dickson grew up playing Australian Rules Football, where drop kicking is a fundamental skill. He actually used a "drop punt" on a kickoff once to pin a team deep, but he hasn't pulled the trigger on a formal drop kick for points in a regular-season game.
The Flutie Legacy
The last drop kick in the NFL remains one of those "Where were you?" moments for hardcore gridiron nerds. It wasn't about the score. It was about the fact that for one play, the game reverted to its chaotic, rugger-style roots.
Flutie earned a $5,000 bonus for that kick, by the way. Or at least, that’s the legendary figure often cited. In reality, the "bonus" was the immortality. He retired shortly after, knowing he was the last man to successfully execute a skill that had been dead for six decades.
Actionable Takeaways for Football Fans
If you're looking to spot the next "weird" special teams play or just want to impress people at a bar with your knowledge of the last drop kick in the NFL, keep these things in mind:
- Watch the Punter: If a team is ever going to try it again, it won't be a traditional kicker. Look for guys with rugby or Aussie Rules backgrounds like Michael Dickson or Mitch Wishnowsky. Their leg swing is naturally suited for the drop.
- The "Dead Game" Scenario: The drop kick only comes out when a game is a blowout or mathematically irrelevant. If it’s Week 18 and a team is up by 30, keep an eye on the substitutions.
- Check the Surface: A drop kick on natural grass is suicide because of divots. If it ever happens again, it’ll be on a perfectly flat, synthetic turf surface where the bounce is "true."
- Understand the Rule: Remember, it must hit the ground before the foot hits the ball. If the foot hits first, it’s a punt. If they do it on a kickoff, the ball is live just like an onside kick once it goes 10 yards.
The drop kick is a ghost in the machine. It’s a reminder that while the NFL is a high-tech, data-driven industry, it’s still played with a weirdly shaped ball that can bounce any way it wants. Doug Flutie just happened to be the last guy brave enough to let it.
To truly understand the evolution of the game, you should look into how the "tuck rule" or the "forward pass" actually started as similar fluke occurrences before becoming standard—unlike the drop kick, which went the opposite direction into extinction. Check out the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s digital archives for the 1941 Chicago Bears vs. Giants game film to see how much easier it was with the old ball shape. Seeing that side-by-side with Flutie’s 2006 highlight makes the difficulty level of the modern version clear.