Buffalo Bills' Dan Carpenter one of four NFL kickers with dubious XP distinction

When Buffalo Bills fans and observers are compiling the list of potential cuts this coming offseason, one of the names that's sure to be near the top of most lists is that of kicker Dan Carpenter. After two solid seasons of work with the Bills, Carpenter's standing with fans and coaches dropped this season after several extra point misses, both in the preseason and regular season.

The change in distance on extra points did him no favors. In an interesting quirk that was made possible by the change to 33-yard extra point tries, Carpenter was one of four NFL kickers to have a higher conversion rate on standard field goals than on extra points during the 2015 season.

At least Carpenter has pretty good company on this list. Hauschka's field goal rate was tied for tops in the league, and the 43-year-old Vinatieri remains in the upper half of kickers in the NFL; he's also a strong Hall of Fame candidate when his career ends.

Carpenter and Myers joined an even more exclusive club with their erratic seasons. They join Mark Moseley (1982) as the only kickers since World War II with nine or more games played to make fewer than 90 percent of their extra point tries and make a higher percentage of their field goal attempts. Of course, unlike Moseley, neither player was named MVP for their efforts. (I'm not kidding, that actually happened.)

Given his proclivities for shanking point-after attempts, as well as the fact that the Bills can create roughly $2 million in much-needed cap space by cutting him, the odds might very well be against Carpenter suiting up for the Bills in 2016. Still, if he does stick around for next season, he should have ample opportunity to bring us more great highlights like this one.