Chris Boswell

The Houston Texans signed Boswell on May 10, 2014 to compete with Randy Bullock.[4] Boswell was cut on August 29.[5] He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 23, 2014.[6]

On January 7, 2015, Boswell signed a reserve/future contract with the New York Giants.[7] On August 16, 2015, Boswell was waived by the Giants.[8] On September 2, 2015, he was re-signed by the Giants.[9] On September 5, 2015, Boswell was waived after failing to make the final 53-man roster.[10]

Boswell signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 3, 2015, becoming their fourth placekicker in 2015.[11]

Boswell made his NFL debut on October 12, completing all three of his extra points and making a 47-yard field goal attempt in a Monday night victory over the San Diego Chargers.[12] He connected on the longest debut conversion in team history, besting Todd Peterson’s record of 46.[13] On October 18, the following week against the Arizona Cardinals, Boswell was 4-for-4 on field goals including kicks of 48, 49, and 51 yards, earning him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.[14] He is the first Steeler in team history to make three 47+ yard field goals in one game.[13] On November 8, Boswell kicked three field goals, including the game-winner and three PATs against the Oakland Raiders.,[15][16] albeit missing his first field goal season-to-date.[15] On November 15, Boswell kicked three field goals against the Cleveland Browns.[17] His 14 field goals is tied for fourth among rookie/first-year players in team history, just behind Jeff Reed (2002, 17).[17] On November 29, Boswell kicked three field goals against the Seattle Seahawks.[18] On October 25, Boswell kicked two field goals against the Kansas City Chiefs.[19] On December 6, Boswell kicked three field goals against the Indianapolis Colts.[20] On December 13, Boswell kicked four field goals against the Cincinnati Bengals.[21] On December 20, Boswell kicked two field goals against the Denver Broncos.[22] He tied a franchise record for the most consecutive games played while scoring at least 10 points, tied with Gary Anderson (1985).[22] He also passed Kris Brown for the most made field goals by a rookie or first-year player in the history of the franchise with 29.[22] He also set Steelers’ records for rookie/first-year kickers for points in a season with 113 and field goal percentage at 90.6.[23] On January 7, 2016, Boswell won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the month of December.[24]

On January 9, 2016, Boswell kicked four field goals in an 18–16 win in the AFC Wild Card game against the Cincinnati Bengals.[25] He successfully kicked a 35-yard game-winning field goal with less than 20 seconds remaining in the game.[26] He set an NFL record for the most field goals by a rookie/first-year player in a playoff game.[27] His four field goals also tied for the most in Steelers playoff history (Gary Anderson in the 1989 Wild Card Round).[27] He also became the youngest kicker to make four field goals in a postseason game.[28] On January 17, 2016, in a loss against the Denver Broncos during the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Boswell tied a franchise record with seven total field goals completed in the post-season.[29]

On September 18, Boswell kicked a season-long 49-yard field goal against the Cincinnati Bengals.[30] On October 23, Boswell kicked three field goals but missed two against the New England Patriots.[31] On November 20, Boswell kicked three field goals against the Cleveland Browns.[32] On December 11, Boswell kicked two field goals against the Buffalo Bills.[33] On December 18, Boswell kicked a career-high six field goals against the Cincinnati Bengals.[34] He is the first kicker in NFL history to convert at least six field goals in a game and have five of those connect from 40+ yards.[34] The last kicker to kick five field goals from 40+ yards in the same game was Mason Crosby in 2015.[34] He is the third Pittsburgh Steeler in franchise history to accomplish the feat. (Jeff Reed in 2002 and Gary Anderson twice in 1988).[34] On January 15, 2017, In the divisional playoff, he set a playoff record, kicking 6 field goals leading the team to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 18–16, scoring all of the Steelers' points. Boswell's four first-half field goals also tied the team record for an entire playoff game.[35]

On February 2, 2017, the Steelers signed Boswell to a one-year, exclusive-rights contract.[36] In Week 2, against the Minnesota Vikings, Boswell converted four field goals and two extra points in the 26–9 victory.[37] In Week 7, He kicked a season-high five field goals against the Cincinnati Bengals.[38] In Week 11, he kicked four field goals in a 40-17 win against the Tennessee Titans.[39] Boswell made a game-winning 53-yard field goal in Week 12 (November 26, 2017) to beat the Green Bay Packers 31-28 as time expired.[40] His game-winner set a new career-long and tied kicker Dan Bailey's record set in 2016 for the longest NFL field goal ever kicked at Heinz Field (53 yards) in its 17-year history.[41] The only longer successful attempt was in collegiate play when former Old Dominion kicker Jarod Brown made a 54-yard kick against the Pitt Panthers in 2013.[42] In Week 13, Boswell converted both extra points and all three field goal attempts, including a 38-yard game-winner as time expired, in a 23–20 comeback win over the Bengals, earning him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[43] The next week he kicked four field goals including a game-winner against the Baltimore Ravens.[44] Throughout the season, Boswell has kicked multiple game-winning field goals in the last minutes, earning him status as one of the Steelers' "Killer B's" and a spot on the AFC's Pro Bowl starting roster.[45] He finished the season tied with Harrison Butker for fourth in scoring with 142 points.[46]

On March 12, 2018, the Steelers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Boswell.[47] On April 5, he signed the tender.[48] On August 23, 2018, the Steelers signed Boswell to a new five-year deal, keeping him under contract through the 2022 season.[49] Boswell was later named a captain alongside Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, and Cameron Heyward.[50]

Boswell had a down year in 2018, converting only 13 of 20 field goal attempts and 43 of 48 extra point attempts. His 65% field goal percentage was ranked last among kickers with at least 20 field goal attempts.[51][52] On November 24, in a loss to the Denver Broncos, Boswell scored his first NFL touchdown on a fake field goal in the waning moments of the second quarter, tossing a two-yard pass to offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva as time expired. He would then convert the ensuing extra point, thus accounting for all seven points of the score.[53]

He was placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2018.[54] It was revealed that he suffered a grade-2 tear in his groin as reported by his brother, Stephen Boswell.[55][56] Boswell was replaced by kicker Matt McCrane for the Steelers' final game against the Cincinnati Bengals for the 2018 season.[57][58]

Boswell rebounded in 2019, going 29 for 31 (93.5%) on field goal attempts and a perfect 28 for 28 on extra point attempts.[59]

On November 8, 2020, in a game at AT&T Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys, Boswell made a career-long 59-yard field goal which also set the Steelers franchise record for longest field goal.[60]