NFL changes in-stadium video board rules for field-goal attempts

After a social media post about the New England Patriots’ apparent attempts to flummox opposing kickers during field-goal attempts by using a sneaky tactic with the in-stadium video board went viral, the NFL is tidying up its guidelines for what the jumbotron can show during kicks.

The league will now require home teams to utilize the in-stadium video board in the same exact way for both teams during field goals and extra points, according to ESPN. Teams already had a choice of showing either an All-22 feed, usually from high up in the end zone, or a static image, during kicks. Now, teams will have those same options, but their choice must remain consistent for both teams during the game. That means teams that use a static image will need to use the same image for both teams, and teams that show an All-22 feed will need to use the same All-22 feed for both teams.

In other words, home teams can no longer try to use the video board as a distraction for opposing kickers, unless they’d like those same distractions employed on their own kicker.

New England, unsurprisingly, seemed to formulate the most devious distraction of any team, as documented by Ryan Paganetti, a former analytics staffer for the Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Las Vegas Raiders, on social media.

Much has been made of the Patriots’ mysterious “Pink Stripes.” How about yellow ones?

I went through more than a decade of TV broadcasts and uncovered a diabolically clever piece of Patriots gamesmanship.

When opposing kickers lined up at Gillette Stadium, the video board… pic.twitter.com/Y5nf0F5vm6

— Ryan Paganetti (@RyanPaganetti) September 2, 2026

Paganetti explains how New England would often show a mirrored All-22 feed during opponent field-goal attempts, creating the illusion of a different set of uprights, and potentially creating confusion about the wind direction as the orange flags atop the uprights on the video board flew in the opposite direction of the real flags. After examining over 50 field-goal attempts by New England kickers, the mirrored feed did not appear a single time.

While you kind of have to give credit to the Patriots here because, man, that’s diabolical, the NFL is right to crack down on these practices before they get out of hand.