The top 36 leading scorers in N.F.L. history are all placekickers––with the first non-kicker on the list being iconic receiver Jerry Rice––yet kickers are rarely celebrated as the stars of the team. On a 53-man football roster, the kicker is often an afterthought, a spare part taken for granted as easily replaceable, and a mere pawn when juxtaposed with the imposing gladiators and giants of the game. This is the story of these unsung heroes of the gridiron.

Kickers experience the most extreme highs and lows imaginable, from the pure elation of walk-off game winners to the soul-crushing defeat of being last-second losers on football’s biggest stage. A one-of-a-kind pressure is reserved for the kicker, with impossible expectations of perfection leading to meticulous preparation and careful superstitions. What type of person can withstand this pressure and consistently perform week after week?

Through the year 2017, the Pro Football Hall of Fame had only inducted one kicker: Jan Stenerud. “The Great Dane” Morten Andersen became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2013, after retiring as the league’s all-time scoring leader. The lm follows Morten on his quest to be enshrined alongside the greatest to ever play the sport, immortalized in the most hallowed halls of the game.