Scott Adamson, Author at Adamsonmedia.com

Aubrey chases history

My fascination with field goal kickers began when I was roughly 10 years old.

I marveled at New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey, who set an NFL record with a 63-yard three-pointer in 1970 – despite being born with no toes on his right (kicking) foot.

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And Pete Gogolak of the New York Giants and Jan Stenerud of the Kansas City Chiefs wowed me with their new-fangled “soccer-style” approach.

We had an old American Beech tree in the backyard, and one of its low-hanging limbs served as a natural crossbar. I’d spend what seemed like hours placing the ball on a plastic tee and attempting to use my trusty right leg to win games for either the Alabama Crimson Tide or New York Jets – depending on whether it was a Saturday or Sunday.

I made a bunch … and as fate would have it, the ones I missed I got to do over because the defense was called for offsides. Funny how that always happened.

Anyway, while throwing or passing for the winning touchdown was the dream of most offensive-minded kids, I longed to split the pipes on a 50-yard field goal to lead my team to glory.

A half century later I remain a leg man, and these days I’m living vicariously through Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey – who effortlessly drilled a 64-yarder against the Giants last Sunday to force overtime in a 40-37 Dallas win. His 46-yarder in the extra period won it.

Now, before I go any further, please note that I don’t cheer for the Cowboys. Hell, I usually cheer against them. I’ve had no affection for the team in the turquoise-gray britches since Lee Roy Jordan was making tackles for them.

Still, that’s where Aubrey plays, and I have a bit of history with him.

Back when he was with the Birmingham Stallions in the modern USFL, I got a one-on-one interview with. He had established himself as one of the best kickers in the spring league, but his story was even better because of all the layers. He was a former professional soccer player who hadn’t played American football since high school until leaving his job as a software engineer and signing with the Stallions.

The interview went much longer than I intended because the dude was so friendly and engaging. With a degree from Notre Dame and success in the business world, he was going to be fine with or without football.

But his enthusiasm for the game – and his desire to see if he could make a living at it – made him someone you find yourself rooting for.

“I kind of burnt out of soccer,” Aubrey told me back in May, 2023. “Transitioning from an attacking player to a defensive player, I really wanted to do something where I could get out there and score some points. I’ve been watching football my whole life. I’ve loved football and obviously I would have kept playing football as a high schooler if I had the option. So, I just wanted to go out and see if I could make football work.”

As a Stallion, he made 32 of 36 field goals over two seasons and nailed 57 of 59 extra points – and all 35 PATs he tried in 2023.

That was good enough to get a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys.

The rest, as they say, is history.

He kicked a 65-yarder in 2024 and the 64-yarder last week – as time expired in regulation – would’ve been good from beyond 70.

He followed up with the game-winner in the last second of O.T. It was the first time in NFL history a kicker had made field goals as time expired in both regulation and overtime in the same game.

“I think that’s the first walk-off field goal I’ve had,” Aubrey said in the postgame gaggle. “So I did it twice (Sunday), which was pretty cool as time expires, once to enter overtime and once in overtime. So, pretty cool moment.”

Now in the third season of his NFL career, Aubrey has been good on 82 of 91 field goal attempts (90.1 percent) and 85 of 88 extra points.

That’s almost unbelievable.

He connected on his first 35 field goals as an NFL player – that had never been done before – and last season he set a league record for most successful field goals of 50 yards or longer with 14.

“I have a job to get the ball through the uprights,” he said. “They (the offense) have a line that they want to get to, and they’ve got to find any way possible to get there.”

Justin Tucker currently holds the NFL regular season record for longest field goal, that coming from 66 yards in 2021 when he was with the Baltimore Ravens.

During the 2025 preseason, Jacksonville Jaguars sidewinder Cam Little hit a 70-yarder.

Look, I’m way too old to tee the ball up and try to clear a limb for an imaginary victory. But Aubrey, at age 30, has the time – and the leg – to make history for me.

My hope is that he gets a chance to stand alone in the record books before the 2025 season is done.

I’m pretty sure he hopes so, too. His next chance comes today when Dallas travels to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears.

“I believe I’m the best kicker in the league,” he said. “So, there’s no better spot to be. It’s an opportunity, so go have fun.”

A cat tale

Ferdinand jumped effortlessly onto the bed and surveyed the situation, the tabby’s ginger and white tail gently sweeping back and forth as he eyed his humans. The long-haired one was rolled over on its ride side with sheets pulled up to cover everything but its face.

The short-haired one was on its back – covers twisted around its knees and mouth agape – emitting strange, rhythmic noises.

The cat walked over both people – gently – getting no response from the long-hair but prompting the short-hair to grunt, snort, and gracelessly shift.

Ferdinand crept toward the footboard and peered at the door leading out of the bedroom.

“It’s OK, Tinker … come on up.”

The small moggy, still a bit unsteady after just seven weeks walking the planet, wobbled forward.

“Too high,” he squeaked. “It too high.”

Ferdinand jumped down and nuzzled the kitten.

“That’s why you have claws, little dude,” said the older feline, who had lived in the same house with the humans for almost nine years. “You have to latch onto the side of the bed and climb up. That’s how I learned way back when the humans picked me up from the Giant Cage.”

Tinker stood on his hind legs and placed his front paws on the bed’s comforter.

“Now,” Ferdinand said, “just let your claws out. And then dig in. Once you do that, you just keep moving your paws up, up, up, and next thing you know, you’ll be on the bed. It’s as easy as that.”

Tinker was able to attach himself to the fabric but once hooked, he simply hung there, staring at Ferdinand.

“I scared.”

Ferdinand jumped back on the bed, his head directly above Tinker.

“Nothing to be scared of. Even if you fall, it won’t matter. Know why? Because you’re a cat. We jump, and sometimes we miss. When we miss, we fall. And when we fall, we get back up and jump again.”

Tinker put one paw in front of the other and slowly worked his way up the comforter – his fluffy, chocolate-colored tail curling with each movement. Finally, he hoisted himself on the top of the bed next to Ferdinand.

“It big,” said the kitten. “It big and soft.”

“It is,” Ferdinand said. “And they get on it every night. They talk, and then they nip each other on the face, and then they get quiet … like we get quiet throughout the day.”

“They rest?”

“They do. And we let them rest for a while because they need it.”

Tinker slowly walked between long-hair and short hair, taking quick sniffs. He then rolled up into a ball near their heads.

“Be ready, Tinker,” Ferdinand whispered. “If long-hair wakes up, it’ll grab you and bite you on the head. If short-hair wakes up, it’ll start rubbing you there. Not sure what it is about them, but they seem drawn to our heads. Watch this …”

Ferdinand made a quick jump and landed on short-hair’s chest, causing the human to open its eyes. He then tapped short hair on the face, causing it to mumble and start scratching Ferdinand’s chin. The scratching was brief as the human closed its eyes and fell back asleep.

“It sweet,” Tinker said, looking up at big brother.

“It is,” Ferdinand said with a purr. “It likes to bite our heads and rub our heads, and it also gives us food and cleans our bathroom and lets us stay inside where the water monsters from the sky can’t hurt us. Short-hair and long hair have been very good pets for as long as I’ve had them.”

Tinker rolled over on his back.

“Ferdinand,” he asked, “they stay with us forever?”

Ferdinand stretched and yawned.

“Forever and ever. They’d be helpless without us.”

Young versus Kelly

Thirty-three years ago today, Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and San Francisco 49ers signal caller Steve Young put on an epic show for 64,503 fans at Candlestick Park – and millions more on television.

In leading Buffalo to a 34-31 victory, Kelly hit 22 of 33 passes for 403 yards and three touchdowns.

Young, on the other hand, connected on 26 of 37 aerials for a career-high 449 yards and three scores.

They were hall of fame-worthy performances by two future Pro Football Hall of Famers.

“I guarantee you,” Kelly told the Reno Gazette-Journal, “no Super Bowl will be this entertaining.”

Added Young, “I don’t know what to say … honestly, I don’t.”

The teams combined for 1,086 yards, with 820 racked up via the passing game. There were no punts, a first in a regular season National Football League contest.

By 1992, both men had already established themselves as superstars on football’s biggest stage. Once they were done, they were regarded as two of the greatest to ever play the game.

Kelly spent 11 seasons in the NFL, throwing for 237 touchdowns and 35,467 yards and making four Pro Bowls.

Young had a 15-year career in football’s apex league, ending with 232 TD passes, 43 rushing scores, 33,124 yards through the air and six passing crowns. He was also a three-time Super Bowl champion.

Yet, while they’ll always be known as NFL legends, they first made their bones in the United States Football League. And on February 24, 1985, they went head-to-head in what has come to be known as “The Greatest Game No One Saw.”

It was the dawn of the third year of the USFL, and the renegade league was struggling. In August, 1984, owners voted to move to the fall and take on the NFL in what some fans saw as a suicide mission. With many ticket buyers seeing the handwriting on the wall, there was a palpable dip in enthusiasm for the product in 1985.

When Kelly and the Houston Gamblers came to California to take on Young and his Los Angeles Express in the season opener, only 18,826 people showed up at the Coliseum. And ABC – the primary TV partner of the spring league – had decided it would televise only one national game each Sunday. On this day, the network chose to showcase the Birmingham Stallions hosting the New Jersey Generals, with Doug Flutie debuting as the Generals’ quarterback.

But those who bought tickets to the game in the Coliseum witnessed history – and one of the wildest gridiron games ever played.

Houston won, 34-33, which suggests a nip-and-tuck affair.

What the final tally doesn’t tell you, though, is that the Gamblers rallied from a 33-13 fourth quarter deficit to steal the victory.

When the smoke cleared, Kelly had connected on 35 of 54 passes for five touchdowns and an all-time American pro football record of 574 yards.

His yardage total eclipsed Los Angeles Rams QB Norm Van Brocklin’s previous best of 554 yards set in 1951. (Canadian Football League quarterback Sam Etchenverry of Montreal had the overall pro passing record with 586 yards in a 1954 game).

Young managed 255 yards and a TD against two interceptions, and he was quite impressed with his counterpart.

“He’s a great quarterback,” Young said to the San Bernardino County Sun. “That’s a great offense … it’d be a fun offense to play for. I can really relate to that offense. They have guys running all over the place, and he just drops back and throws it. It reminded me of our offense at BYU (Young’s college team).”

Kelly’s performance helped him bolster his reputation as one of the best young field generals in the sport; he was both the USFL Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year in 1984.

Kelly was one of five quarterbacks taken ahead of Dan Marino in the 1983 NFL Draft, and the man who chose the USFL said he had no problem comparing numbers with the Miami Dolphins’ starter.

“I’ll bet you can call him up tomorrow and (Marino) will know my stats,” Kelly told the Sun. “Sure, build it up as much as possible. I’m not out for the glory, but if it comes to me, fine.

“I can’t say that I’m better. If he says he’s better, that’s fine. He’s proved how good he is. All I can say is I know how good I am.”

Kelly added that he had no regrets about joining the alternative league.

“Zero,” he said. “My goal was the NFL, but I got paid enough money to take care of my family. I’m just happy playing football. I love Houston, and that’s better than 40 degrees in Buffalo.”

As you probably know, the 1985 campaign was the last for the USFL. It’s demise paved the way for Kelly and Young to begin their sterling NFL careers.

Kelly joined Buffalo in 1985, and seemed to adjust to the cold just fine since he spent his entire time as an NFL employee there.

Young was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1985 and 1986 before signing with the 49ers in 1987.

And while their exploits playing for “The Shield” ultimately got them to Canton, their USFL clash forty years ago showed just how great they could be.

Too bad less than 19,000 people were there to see it.