Sunday, September 8, 1996. Rich Stadium, Buffalo, NY.

Rookie kicker Adam Vinatieri, in his second-ever NFL game, misses three kicks — including an extra point. The New England Patriots, the team that signed Vinatieri as an undrafted free agent just a few months prior, lose 17-10. Vinatieri thinks he might get cut. He knows his job in the NFL is not guaranteed unless he can turn it around and prove himself.

Thursday, February 5, 2026. San Francisco, Calif.

30 years later, a 53-year-old Vinatieri — after playing in the NFL for 24 seasons and becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer — becomes a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility.

Safe to say he turned it around.

Vinatieri still remembers that afternoon in Buffalo, recalling the rain, wind and other impactful elements that made Vinatieri call any kicker or punter that signed with the Bills a “glutton for punishment.”

“I remember coach (Bill) Parcells — I literally looked at our sideline and it looked like his head was going to explode and he’s screaming at me and I really wanted to walk to the other sideline at that point,” Vinatieri recalled. “But that week, the following week, I remember him saying to the media, ‘Our kicker is week-to-week.’ Which, I know what that means. That means if you have one more bad game, you’re never going to be heard of ever again. And as a rookie without having years of experience, it’s not like another team is going to give you another opportunity, probably.”

The pressure was on, and it was full-force. And just two weeks later, Vinatieri made five-of-six field goal attempts against the Jacksonville Jaguars, including a game-winning 40-yard field goal in overtime. That was all the young kicker needed.

“It was kind of like — I wouldn’t say smooth sailing, it’s never smooth sailing, you always have to continue to work and continue to do your job,” Vinatieri explained. “But at that point, it was almost — the switch got flipped and the rest of the season really took off well. And then I think at that point, I think I just built a lot of confidence knowing you can have a bad game, everybody has a bad game, we’re all human, but turn around and refocus in and get that monkey off your back and get back out there and start helping your team win games, not hurting your team.”

It didn’t take long for Vinatieri to make waves nationally, as he would kick the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI to lead the Patriots to their first ever Super Bowl victory and then do the same thing two years later in Super Bowl XXXVIII. In doing so, he became the first player ever to be the deciding factor in two Super Bowl games.