Steelers kicker Chris Boswell approaches season with no regard to his All-Pro 2024

Chris Boswell’s approach in answering questions from media mirrors the method that has made him the NFL’s best kicker.

Not unlike the perfected muscle memory in the mechanics he takes in attempting each field goal, Boswell time after time will repeat the mindset he has mastered in becoming such a reliable component of the Pittsburgh Steelers over the past decade.

“I’m going to keep saying it,” Boswell said before a training camp practice this week. “Just kick my kick. The next kick matters the most. And then after that, the next kick matters the most.”

But can Boswell, who is entering his 11th season, maintain that attitude even for those long kicks of, say, more than 50 yards?

“I mean, it’s such routine,” Boswell said, “so I hate to say robotic. But you get into such a good rhythm, you don’t even focus on where you are on the field.”

Boswell is so adept at that every-kick-is-the-same, the-next-one-is-the-most-important-one ethos that he applies it not only to kicks (or in answering questions from reporters), he takes it to a bigger-picture mentality.

The same way Boswell has seemingly perfected the art of leaving that botched extra point or — conversely — nailed-through 56-yarder in the past as he readies for his next kick, the Steelers’ second-longest tenured player likewise can put an entire prior season behind him.

That All-Pro recognition he earned for 2024? Boswell refuses to allow it enter his mind as he prepares for 2025.

After all, as Bowell put it: “I was able to compartmentalize after a (crap) year and then come back and have a good year.”

Boswell is referring to the bounceback he showed in 2019 — making 57 of 59 placekicks — after his job was put on public notice following a 2018 in which he made just 65% of his field-goal tries and misfired on five extra points.

He hasn’t looked back since, peaking last season when he led the NFL in field goals (41) with his only misses on attempts from 58 yards (on a snowy night) and 62 yards, plus one that was blocked.

“He’s an unbelievable weapon,” offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said.

Perhaps currently there is no bigger weapon from his position in the league. For much of Boswell’s career, the one kicker who kept him from more such accolades, Justin Tucker, not only had his worst season in 2024 but this spring was released by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended by the NFL for off-field conduct.

That leaves Boswell as the consensus top kicker in the league, one who has both the consistency of ever-rare misses and the strong leg that allows coach Mike Tomlin the confidence to call on him even more from 60-plus yards away.

“Nothing is too big for him,” special teams coordinator Danny Smith said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday at Saint Vincent College. “He wants the big kick.”

The curious dichotomy of Boswell is as much as he relishes getting called upon in the biggest of moments when the pressure and attention is at its most, he does everything he can to avoid and downplay the attention that comes with accolades such as All-Pro recognition.

“I don’t pay too much (attention) to it,” Boswell said. “(In preparing for) this year, last year pays no advance into this year. You’ve got to work for it and earn it every year. Last year was last year, so I’ve just got to get better this year.”

But can Boswell get better at age 34?

While the natural human physiology suggests he’s closer to the end of his career than the beginning of it, Boswell figures to have a few more solid years in that right leg. Historically, the NFL’s elite kickers can often perform well into their late 30s — and, for some, beyond that.

For his part, Boswell insists he hasn’t and won’t dramatically alter his training or practice techniques as he ages.

“No, kicking’s still kicking,” he said “Whether you’re 22 or 34, the ball don’t change. Swing don’t change. So, I’ve just got to be me and just see what happens.”