In short, kickers are getting better than they ever have been. It coincides with an NFL rule change that has made it easier than ever to get into field goal range. It also coincides with the widespread usage of two-high defenses, which has deflated passing outputs league-wide through two weeks and has forced more and more field goal opportunities.
Not sure why people are so up in arms about this. I love seeing super long field goal attempts. Instead of thinking of FGs as a consolation prize, teams with strong kickers should be looking at them as a threat.
Now the new landing zone for kickoffs seems to have mostly failed to generate more returns. Perhaps we should look at moving up the touchback starting field position even further, say to the 35 yard line. Combine that a long range kicker and we could see a potent offence generate scoring threats on very few total yards. This makes every single play carry more significance in a drive.