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Adam Vinatieri breaks consecutive FG mark, makes Hall of Fame case even stronger

Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has broken the all-time record for consecutive field-goal makes with 43, putting yet another stamp on his eventual Hall of Fame career.

Yeah, we said it. Only one kicker — Jan Stenerud — currently resides in Canton, but Vinatieri deserves to be the second to get the gold jacket. No. 43 in a row for the 43-year-old was a 33-yarder that put Vinatieri in the record books, but he already has one of the greatest kicking résumés ever.

He hit two early field goals in Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, the second of which was a 28-yarder to tie the record. Then midway late in the third quarter, Vinatieri broke the mark that was held by another former Colt, Mike Vanderjagt. That streak ended in 2004 when Vanderjagt shanked a potential game-tying kick in the final moments of the Colts’ season opener against the New England Patriots. The kicker on the other sideline that night? Vinatieri.

Twenty-one seasons into his career, Vinatieri amazingly now has been with the Colts longer than he did with the Patriots, winning three Super Bowls with his former club and one with his current team.

But let’s not live in the past too long. Vinatieri was named the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 5 this season, hitting five field goals in the victory over the Chicago Bears. He hasn’t missed since Week 15 of last season, hitting on all 17 attempts in 2016.

Dating back to the start of the 2013 season, Vinatieri has made 109-of-117, for an insane 93.2-percent conversion rate. On attempts of 50 yards or longer in that span, he’s 16-of-19. Are you kidding?

Vinatieri is the NFL’s active scoring leader with 2,324 points and is third all-time behind Gary Anderson (2,434) and Morten Andersen (2,544). Who’s to say that Vinatieri can’t break the all-time mark? The way he’s kicking now, he could get the record by the end of the 2017 season.

Few players at any position have been this good this later into their career.

Adam Vinatieri now has made 43 straight field-goal tries, breaking the all-time mark. (AP)
Adam Vinatieri now has made 43 straight field-goal tries, breaking the all-time mark. (AP)

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!