There aren't too many times that a NFL team will attempt a 63-yard field goal, since missing the difficult kick will result in great field position for the opposing team.

But with only seconds left in the first half in their game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers didn't have to worry about that when they sent kicker David Akers out to try what would tie the record for the longest kick in league history.

As you can see above, Akers hit the kick, thanks to a fortuitous and almost gravity-defying bounce off the crossbar.

Akers becomes the fourth NFL kicker to make a 63-yard field goal. The first man to do it was New Orleans kicker Tom Dempsey -- who was famously born with only half a foot -- in 1970. The last two 63 yard kicks, by Denver Broncos kicker Jason Elam in 1998 and the Oakland Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski in 2011, came in the thin air of Denver's Mile High Stadium.

After the game, Akers acknowledged that a bit of luck may have played a role in his record tying effort.

"When you hit the goal post at any part it usually makes that horrific noise and then it usually bounces back," Akers said after San Francisco's 30-22 victory. "This time it got there. It was a sweet bounce. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime type of a deal."

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