Just before the Cleveland Browns got the ball back after a monumental stop by the defense with a little more than two minutes to play in a 10-10 game against the hated rival Ravens, rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion approached kicker Andre Szmyt, who had earlier missed a field goal for the first time in 26 tries, and delivered a message to him. He was about to win the game, Concepcion told him.
Concepcion recalled: “This was the punt return before the two-minute. I went up to Andre and told him, we are about to drive down the field and you are about to kick the game winner. That just shows his determination, his willingness, after missing the first one to, you know, go win the game for us.”
Indeed, Szmyt did win the game on a 37-yard kick as time expired at Huntington Bank Field, delivering a rough-and-tumble win that moved the Browns to 4-2 and in sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
Andre Szmyt Back on Track for Browns
It was a moment of redemption for Szmyt, who had been automatic for much of the season for the Browns, but who began to show some slippage last week against the Jets with a missed extra point. But after seeing his field-goal streak broken by a kick that started at the left upright and just never really moved off that line, Szmyt bounced back nicely.
He reflected on keeping his focus after the first miss in the locker room after the game.
Said Szmyt: “Honestly, I thought it was a left-right wind so I tried to play it more left, kind of like I did in the Steelers game a couple of weeks ago. And it just stayed left. So, I was like, OK, whatever. You can see on the last kick, it kind of had a left-right fade to it, which is what I expected on the last one. But you flush it, You look at what the wind was doing, and you move on.”
Browns Star Had Clear Message for Andre Szmyt Before Game-Winning Kick