WATCH: NFL Camera Operator Gets a Football Facial, Takes 53-Yard Field Goal on the Chin

Football players are widely lauded for being uniquely tough, but they’re not the only ones on the field putting their bodies in harm’s way.

Camera operators routinely set up on the sideline at sporting events, attempting to get as close as they can for the perfect shot without disrupting the action. But sometimes, the action comes directly to them, and Fox camera operator Don Cornelli proved that on Thursday Night Football.

Midway through the fourth quarter, New England Patriots kicker Nick Folk lined up for a 53-yard field goal and Cornelli set himself up just beyond the uprights. As the kick sailed through the goal posts, Cornelli followed it with the camera before taking the football right on the chin.

Credit Cornelli for showing off his football toughness and shaking off the 53-yarder. Even Fox play-by-play voice Joe Buck and analyst Troy Aikman commended Cornelli for his commitment to getting the perfect angle.

“I’m glad he’s OK, you never know,” Aikman chimed in with a chuckle. “He has a way of always being in the right spot.”

“That’s what gets you in the Hall-of-Fame,” Buck added. That’s what the great ones do.”

Highlights were lacking during the 25-0 dominant win by New England over the Atlanta Falcons. But Cornelli took matters into his own hands and made an epic highlight out of what was a routine field goal attempt. Cornelli was welcomed into the Sports Broadcasting Hall-of-Fame earlier this year as a member of the 2020 class of inductees.

Watch above via Fox

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