Nobody in NFL history has buried more field goals than Adam Vinatieri, but the most jaw-dropping highlight of his 23-year career isn’t what you’d expect.
Thanks to NFL Throwback on Twitter, a video of Vinatieri as a rookie in 1996 has surfaced. But he’s not kicking a field goal; no, the then-New England Patriots rookie catches up to and brings down Herschel Walker on a kickoff.
Seriously. This is amazing.
He's made 27 game-winning kicks, two in the Super Bowl.
But this might be the most impressive play of @adamvinatieri's career…
(Dec. 15, 1996) @Patriots pic.twitter.com/BR7FGIjU0G
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) October 18, 2018
All the way in 2018, it might be difficult to imagine the 45-year-old Vinatieri being a spry, young specialist. There’s the proof!
Unofficially, Vinatieri has accounted for 15 total tackles in addition to his pair of game-winning Super Bowl kicks during his illustrious career. Unless you remember watching the Patriots in 1996, though, who would’ve guessed Vinatieri could catch one of the greatest athletes of all time?
In fairness to Walker, he was 34 at the time compared to Vinatieri’s 23. Still!
Vinatieri —who is approaching the NFL’s all-time points record — is already a definite Hall of Famer. But whatever the next level is beyond legendary, in our book, he’s there.