After graduating from
Syracuse University, he was
drafted as a
placekicker by the
Buffalo Bills in the
1982 NFL draft but was cut before the season began. He then, within a few days, signed as a free agent with the
Pittsburgh Steelers and spent the following 13 seasons in Pittsburgh. For the 1995 and 1996 seasons, Anderson signed as a
free agent with the
Philadelphia Eagles. He then spent the 1997 season as a member of the
San Francisco 49ers. He also had the distinction of wearing a
one-bar facemask throughout his career, even though the NFL outlawed their use prior to his final season in 2004 – he, along with
Arizona Cardinals punter
Scott Player, were afforded a
grandfather clause. In 1998, Anderson signed with the
Minnesota Vikings and converted all 35 of his attempted field goals and all 59 extra points in regular season play, becoming the first placekicker to finish the regular season with a 100% success rate on both field goals and extra points. His only miss of the season came in the 1998 NFC Championship Game against the
Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons ended up winning the game in overtime sending them to
Super Bowl XXXIII. Anderson continued to play for the Vikings until 2002. In 2000, while with the Vikings, Anderson surpassed the legendary
George Blanda to become the NFL's All-Time Leading Scorer and held the record upon his retirement from the NFL in 2004. Anderson played his final two seasons with the
Tennessee Titans in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Anderson played 23 years in the NFL; only
Adam Vinatieri (24 seasons),
Morten Andersen (25 seasons) and
George Blanda (26 seasons) have had longer playing tenures; Additionally, Vinatieri and Andersen are the only players to play in more career games than Anderson. Although not officially retired, Anderson's number 1 has also not been reissued by Steelers since his departure from the team. There are a number of interesting coincidences between Anderson and
Morten Andersen, another retired star placekicker. Anderson and Morten Andersen have nearly identical last names, were born within a year of one another outside the United States (Morten was born in Denmark), came to the United States as teenagers, were both drafted in
1982, had long and successful NFL careers throughout the 1980s and 1990s (and both retiring in the 2000s decade), and hold first or second place in a number of NFL records for scoring, field goals, and longevity. Their overall accuracy is also nearly identical; their career percentage being within .5% of each other on both FGs and PATs. In the
1998 NFC Championship Game, Anderson missed a field goal for the
Minnesota Vikings before Morten Andersen successfully converted his winning kick for the
Atlanta Falcons (which sent them to
Super Bowl XXXIII, their first Super Bowl appearance), both from the same distance as well (38 yards). On 16 December 2006, Morten passed Anderson to become the all-time leading scorer in NFL history. The following weekend, 24 December 2006, Morten again passed Anderson to become the NFL's career leader in field goals made. ==NFL career statistics==