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The Green Bay Packers claimed their fourth win of the season in heart-stopping fashion on Sunday afternoon, watching veteran kicker Mason Crosby miss three consecutive field goals down the stretch against the Cincinnati Bengals before finally putting one through — from 49 yards away — in overtime to win 25-22 on October 10.
The Packers, though, could have gone a different direction instead of letting Crosby attempt a game-winner for the fourth time. Facing fourth-and-inches after the Bengals’ 32-yard line, head coach Matt LaFleur knew he could trust Aaron Rodgers and the offense to get the first down, if necessary, and close the distance some more.
“That definitely crossed my mind, especially there at the end when it was fourth-and-inches,” LaFleur told reporters in the postgame.
Instead, the third-year head coach found Crosby on the sideline and deferred to him.
“I literally asked him,” LaFleur said. “I walked over (to him). He was at the kicking net (and) he was coming back toward the field. I said, ‘Hey, what do you think?’ He’s like, ‘I got this.’ And so I was like, ‘Alright, you got it. Go do it.'”
And do it Crosby did. After missing three field-goal tries in a row along with a PAT earlier in the game, Crosby fired his fourth attempt through the uprights and sealed a 25-22 victory for the Packers after more than eight minutes of overtime. Ultimately, it came down to Crosby’s resilience and the “zero flinch” he showed LaFleur when it came to making the final call.
“If I would have felt anything, we would have gone for it, but there was never a doubt in his mind,” LaFleur said. “I trust him. He’s been doing it for a really long time at a really high level. He’s made a lot of clutch kicks for us. And it’s just part of the story. What a great team win.”
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Crosby: ‘You’ve Got to Take Joy in the Moment’
While it wasn’t a finish the Packers will soon forget, Crosby wasn’t getting hung up on the low points in Sunday’s victory over the Bengals. He was cheery in the postgame when talking to a room full of reporters and oozed confidence in himself despite the numerous strikes against his kicking record over the course of the day.
“I’m excited right now,” Crosby said. “You’ve got to take joy in the moment. All I can think about is that last kick right now. You see the faces of your teammates and what those guys put on the line to continue to get in that position. I just want to come through for them. Everyone has all the faith in the world in me, and I have all the faith in the world that I’m going to keep getting those opps. I’m so happy I was able to come through there at the end, and I’m going to celebrate it. Then, I’m a realist and I’m honest with myself and I’m probably my harshest critic, so I’m going to make sure I do what I can and we’ll clean up anything on the other side if there are any operation or protection (issues).”
Crosby Set Multiple Records — Good & Bad
Crosby’s rough stretch of missed kicks might have raised the blood pressure of Packers fans everywhere, but part of the reason for such a frantic reaction was usual reliability. It was far out of place for the 37-year old placekicker. In fact, Crosby had not missed a field goal since Week 17 of the 2019 season, hitting three earlier in the game that gave him a franchise record of 27 consecutive makes before his first miss in the fourth quarter snapped the streak.
It was also only the second time in Crosby’s career that he has missed more than two field goals in a single game, the first time occurrence being his dreadful performance against the Detroit Lions in Week 5 of the 2018 season.
At the same time, Crosby’s ugliest moments in the game will also be preserved thanks to the back-and-forth nature of his and Bengals kicker Evan McPherson’s missing spree. The two kickers combined for five consecutive missed field goals after the three-minute mark in the fourth quarter, setting an NFL record that — according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky — dates back to the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
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