Seattle – The Monday night football game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks ended in a field goal.

It was four down with 20 seconds remaining for Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. He only needed five yards to complete a first down, but Denver first-year coach Nathaniel Hackett opted for a field goal instead at Seattle’s 46-yard line.

When kicker Brandon McManus set up for a 64-yard field goal, Hackett believed it could go through the uprights.

Heavy rain floods Soldier Field during the Chicago Bears’ season opener against the San Francisco 49ers

“I just made a decision. I wanted to take a shot,” Hackett said in a post-game interview. “I think he’s perfectly capable.”

With the game on the line, McManus delivered the kick.

left wide.

Brandon McManus, 8, of the Denver Broncos reacts to missing a game-winning 64-yard field goal attempt against the Seattle Seahawks.

(((Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

“I wasn’t necessarily worried about the distance. When I got back there, I found that when the ball started to lose speed, especially in a right-to-left breeze, it would drop to the left,” McManus said after the game. “So I wanted to point it to the right upright, but you know, it started in the middle and dropped there. I wanted to point it more to the right, but it didn’t work.” .”

“I got probably the best field goal kicker in this game,” Wilson said at a press conference.

But would it have made a difference if McManus was on home ground?

Elevation difference at Mile High Stadium

It’s common knowledge that wind is the biggest weather factor during a soccer game, but the advantage for Denver’s athletes is the height of the field. And not just the stadium, but the whole city.

Mile High Empower Field is literally one mile above sea level.

An overview of Empower Field’s stadium at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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And while you may question how long it takes for the Seahawks to properly acclimatize to perform at 5,280 feet, the real kicker is that the thinner air makes the ball fluffier. How far can you actually fly?

Rotogrinders.com meteorologist Kevin Roth said of the sport in Denver, “Altitude is a big factor. We see it year after year, year after year.”

As altitude increases, the amount of gas molecules in the air decreases, reducing oxygen and pressure.

Effects of weather on football games

Because of this, kickers and punters automatically gain an edge when performing in Denver.

The longest punt in NFL history took place in 1969 at a Broncos stadium. Jets rookie Steve O’Neill set his NFL record for longest punt of 98 yards.

And in 2013, Matt Prater broke the then-record by hitting the yardage in question in Denver and hitting a 64-yard field goal.

Teammates congratulate Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus, 8, after kicking a 61-yard field goal against the Chargers at the end of the first half at SoFi Stadium in El Segundo, Calif., on Jan. 2, 2022. increase. (Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times) via Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

McManus’ furthest field goal happened to be 61 yards, and that wasn’t even Denver. The game against the Chargers was in Los Angeles.

So could McManus have jumped 3 more yards in Denver? Science says so.