The Patriots and Raiders are meeting in Mexico City on Sunday, and special teams will be affected.
The game is at Azteca Stadium, which is 7,380 feet above sea level. That’s much higher than the 5,280-foot altitude of Denver, and that means punts and field goals will travel farther than they do at any NFL stadium.
Last year’s game in Mexico City, between the Raiders and Texans, saw Oakland’s Marquette King average 53 yards a punt and Houston’s Shane Lechler average 52. For both, that was about five yards longer than their average for the rest of the season, outside Mexico City.
King is averaging 50.3 yards per punt, second-best in the NFL this year, while Patriots punter Ryan Allen is averaging 43.2 yards, which is second from the bottom. The Patriots prefer to punt for hang time and limit returns, so King’s punts may travel longer than usual, while Allen may get more hang time than usual, thanks to the altitude.
Neither team attempted a long field goal in last season’s Mexico City game, but the altitude in Denver can add about five yards to a kicker’s range, and in Mexico City it may be a yard or two longer than that. Three of the five longest field goals in NFL history have been kicked in Denver, where the altitude is an advantage. Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski hit a 58-yard field goal in New England this season, so in Mexico City he’d definitely have the ability to break the NFL record of 64 yards, set by Matt Prater in Denver in 2013. Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio hasn’t shown that kind of range, but he hit a career-long 53-yarder in the Raiders’ last game, at Miami.
Kickoffs will also be affected: Tavecchio usually tries to kick the ball out the end zone, and in Mexico City he shouldn’t have any trouble doing that. The Patriots usually prefer to kick the ball high and just short of the goal line, and they’ll be able to get more height on their kickoffs in Mexico City.
The altitude won’t necessarily be an advantage for either team, but it will certainly provide advantageous conditions for kickers.