FRISCO, Texas — Brandon Aubrey said Friday that his missed 48-yard extra point in the Dallas Cowboys’ season opener began with a break in his routine. Dallas had waved him off for a two-point try, and he had started preparing for the kickoff when a penalty sent him back out.
Javonte Williams caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott with 5:21 left at MetLife Stadium and was flagged for taunting on the play. The touchdown cut the New York Giants’ lead to 28-20. The 15 yards turned the planned two-point attempt into a kick.
Aubrey pushed it wide right. The Cowboys did not touch the ball again in the 28-20 loss.
Brandon Aubrey Says Two-Point Switch Broke His Kicking Routine
When Dallas goes for two, Aubrey lets go of the extra point and turns to the kickoff.
“We’re going for two,” Aubrey said. “I run on the field, get sent off the field, starting my preparation for kickoffs, take a sigh of relief, kind of let everything go for the extra point. It’s quite a mental buildup to get prepared for a kick. And then just to kind of let it go is a mistake.”
“Get the penalty, come back on there, and didn’t properly get back in that state of mind I needed to,” Aubrey continued. “So, yeah, mental error, physical error, not getting through the ball. And those correlate more than anything else.”
The NFL fined Williams for the taunting penalty this week. On Monday, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the same sequence cost Dallas against the New York Jets last season, when an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty backed up an extra point that the Cowboys missed.
Aubrey made 47-of-48 extra points in 2025, along with 36-of-42 field goals. He entered this season having made 112 of 127 career field goal attempts.
Nick Sorensen Calls Brandon Aubrey’s Two 48-Yard Misses In New York A Coincidence
On Thursday, Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen said Aubrey can make kicks from 48, 58, and 68 yards and has to treat every kick the same. Sorensen also brought up the Jets miss.
“I think that’s probably just a coincidence,” Sorensen said. “It just so happened that he missed a 48-yard extra point twice, both in New York.”
Aubrey pushed the kick after poor contact, and he did not tie the miss to the stadium.
“I don’t know,” Aubrey explained. “Anytime you miss, it’s nothing to do with anything other than that kick and just didn’t have the correct form, made poor ball contact and pushed it. I didn’t finish through my swing. That’s as simple as that.”
Aubrey signed a four-year, $28 million extension on April 20 that made him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history. The deal includes $20 million guaranteed.
Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. The Cowboys then face the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 27 at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
