Kicker Sebastian Janikowski is the elder statesman on the Raiders and a player who’s endured season after season of frustration.
Since helping Oakland get to the Super Bowl in the 2002 season, he hasn’t had the opportunity to play in a single postseason game. From his rookie season of 2000 through that Super Bowl, he played in seven playoff games, making 14-of-16 field-goal attempts. Since then? Nothing.
So Janikowski certainly is enjoying this new experience, with the Raiders at 7-2 and tied for the lead in the AFC West. At 38, too, the Raiders strong-legged kicker remains a terrific weapon for his team, both on kickoffs and long field-goal tries.
Yet as the Raiders come out of their bye week and get ready to take on the Houston Texans this Monday night in Mexico City, Oakland will need Janikowski to regan some of his long-range accuracy. In a tight AFC West race against the 7-2 Chiefs, 7-3 Broncos and explosive 4-6 Chargers – who lead all four teams in scoring – the Raiders will no doubt need Janikowski to convert more long field goals. Three points could turn out to be the margin of winning or losing a division title or a playoff spot.
So far, Janikowski has not been his usual self from long range.
Though he broke the NFL record earlier this year for most career field goals of 50 or more yards – the mark had been 52 – Janikowski has had his troubles. He is just 3-of-8 from 50 or more this season, a success rate of just 37.5 percent. Last season, he was 4-of-5, and over the five previous years Janikowski was 23-of-36 from 50 yards or more, a success rate of 63.8 percent.
Plus, he’s missed some crucial attempts. He missed two potential long game-winning kicks vs. the Buccaneers in a game the Raiders eventually won in overtime. And, in a win over the Broncos in Oakland’s most recent game, he missed a 48-yarder – his first miss from inside 50 this season. He now is 13-of-14 on kicks inside 50.
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But, his overall field-goal percentage this season is just 72.7 percent, following seasons of 80.8 percent and 86.4 percent the previous two seasons.
Head coach Jack Del Rio has said he has “complete faith” in Janikowski, and believes his kicker eventually will get locked in.
But, as Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group noted recently, continued shakiness from long range could change Del Rio’s decision-making progress as this season progresses.
Wrote Durkin, after Janikowski’s 48-yard miss vs. the Broncos: “It’s worth wondering how much faith Jack Del Rio will show in Janikowski.”
