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8 NFL Teams Who Should Go For Two After Every Touchdown

See which teams should go for two every time.

Mark Gunnels

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Before the 2015 NFL season, 30 NFL teams voted to move the extra-point from the 2-yard line to the 15.

This decision has made what used to be known as an automatic point to a very stressful and entertaining kick every week.

Retired kicker Matt Stover made a really interesting point.

“The expectation is that you’ll make every single extra point,” he stated. “But moving it back from the 2 to the 15 is like turning a 2- or 3-foot putt into a 6- or 7-foot putt. A lot more can go wrong.”

There were 71 PATs missed this season, compared to 37 missed from the previous five seasons combined. This was the highest total of missed extra-points since 1977 (72).

As we move forward, it’s unclear whether or not the percentages will go up or down, but one thing we do know is some teams should really consider going for two every time.

Arizona Cardinals – When it comes to accuracy, there aren’t too many in the business better than Carson Palmer.

Palmer has been around the block a few times, so allowing free will to come through from the two-yard line is something to feel comfortable about if you’re Bruce Arians.

With all of that being said, it doesn’t hurt having Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd as throwing options, and handing the ball to David Johnson is never a bad idea.

Carolina Panthers – There’s several reasons to believe why the Panthers should go for two every time.

First of all, Carolina was second in the league in rushing during the regular season, only trailing Buffalo.

Jonathan Stewart totaled 989 rushing yards, while averaging 4.1 yards per carry.

Oh yeah, they also have some guy named Cam Newton.

With Newton, there’s so many different ways you could use him at the goal line. You can go the quarterback draw route, read option or simply just have him look for his big target in Greg Olsen or even Kelvin Benjamin.

Newton is the most unstoppable player in the NFL in short yardage.

Green Bay Packers – This was a down year for the Packers offense for a variety of reasons.

The main reason was the absence of Jordy Nelson.

When we found out Nelson was going to be out for the year, we knew Green Bay’s offense would suffer a little bit, but who thought it would be this bad?

Aaron Rodgers and company finished 15th in scoring, but with Nelson returning this upcoming season, this is a team that should seriously considering going for two.

Along with Nelson, Rodgers will still have Randall Cobb, James Jones, Richard Rodgers and Davante Adams.

Not to mention, Rodgers is a running threat as well, especially from two yards out.

New England Patriots – This is probably the biggest no-brainer.

Two names: Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

These two greats are arguably the two best players at their position of all-time.

Gronk is already a matchup nightmare, but especially near the goal line because the defense has to pick their poison. If you elect to double him, then it’ll open things up for Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola underneath.

New England thrives in the short passing game and Brady is as accurate as any quarterback…ever.  Making two yards for two points should be an automatic decision for this team.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Unfortunately, towards the end of the season fans weren’t able to see this offensive unit at full strength.

Due to foul play against the Cincinnati Bengals, superstar receiver Antonio Brown was out against the Denver Broncos with a concussion.

Running back Le’Veon Bell played his last game of the season against Cincinnati as well, as he tore his MCL back in November.

When healthy, you’ll be hard pressed finding a more explosive offense.

Just like this past season, Pittsburgh will be scoring lots of touchdowns that should be turning into eight points.

Think about it, Ben Roethlisberger has a plethora of options and I haven’t even mentioned tight end Heath Miller. Also, with Big Ben’s ability to extend plays, there’s a good chance he’ll be able to throw someone open if they aren’t initially.

Brown, Martavis Bryant, Markus Wheaton, Miller and Bell.  It’s tough to imagine anyone stopping these guys from two yards out.

Oakland Raiders – We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg for this group.

After his sophomore season, Derek Carr is slowly turning into one of the best young quarterbacks in football.

Carr put up numbers in 2015 which included 32 touchdowns, 3,987 yards and a completion percentage of 61.1.

The best part about this offense is Carr has a partner in crime for years to come in Amari Cooper, who caught 72 catches for 1,070 yards to go along with six touchdowns.

Also, Carr has another big target in Michael Crabtree, who revamped his career this past season. He led the team in receiving touchdowns with nine.

With those two big targets on each side, Carr would have fun going for two every time because he has trust in both guys, and Latavius Murray isn’t a bad guy to hand the ball to.

Jacksonville Jaguars – This may be the best up and coming offensive unit in all of football.

After a shaky rookie campaign, Blake Bortles silenced his detractors in a major way in year two.

The Central Florida product finished the 2015 season with a touchdown to interception of 35:18 to go along with 4,428 passing yards.

For as well as Bortles played, this isn’t to say he doesn’t have talent around him.

The ‘Allen’ combination of Robinson and Hurns have the potential to be the best wide receiver duo in the NFL one day. The tandem combined for 144 catches, 2,431 yards and 24 touchdowns this past season.

When you combine that duo with the size of tight end Julius Thomas, you suddenly have an unit that would cause defensive coordinators stress, as they attempt to stop Jacksonville from two yards out.

Don’t forget about Bortles ability to scramble and running back T.J. Yeldon.  The weapons are there, and the Jags might want to consider going for two because their kicker, Jason Myers missed more extra points than any other kicker in the NFL.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – This young offensive unit showed flashes of greatness, but as expected, they also showed how offense shouldn’t be played.

To their defense, things should only get better as Jameis Winston continues to grow not only as a quarterback but as a leader.

When the 2016 season rolls around, whenever Tampa Bay finds themselves putting six on the board, first year head coach Dirk Koetter needs to go for eight every single time, unless the situation permits otherwise.

While Vincent Jackson is clearly on the downside of his career, Texas A&M product Mike Evans is a legitimate threat near the goal line due to his size and great leaping ability.

Moving forward, there’s little to no doubt the Bucs will be looking to add a receiver opposite of Evans.

Nonetheless, if there’s no throwing options for Winston near the goal line, we all know the former Heisman Trophy winner is capable of getting into the end zone on his own with his 6-foot-4, 231 pound frame, as he ran for six touchdowns this year.

Mark Gunnels is an NFL columnist for Football Insiders. He has several years of experience covering the NFL and NCAA football. He's the radio color commentator for Lincoln University football. Mark's work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and Yard Barker.

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