The Green Bay Packers endured kicking problems since they parted ways with Mason Crosby after the 2022 season. Those struggles lasted through all of 2023 and into the first six games of the 2024 season. But now, veteran kicker Brandon McManus has solved the Packers kicking problems. As a result, the team has eliminated this from their list of things that need to be improved upon.
Brandon McManus Has Solved the Packers Kicking Problems: The Struggle
Crosby served as the Packers kicker from 2007 until the end of the 2022 campaign. He gave the team remarkable consistency at the position for 16 seasons and remains the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1,918 points.
But GM Brian Gutekunst decided not to re-sign the 39-year-old veteran for 2023. Instead the Pack selected Anders Carlson in the sixth round of that year’s NFL Draft. Unfortunately, the Auburn alum struggled and led the league in missed kicks last season.
During the offseason, Gutekunst brought in competition for Carlson. At different times during the offseason and preseason, the Packers had Carlson, veteran Greg Joseph, Jack Podlesny, and James Turner on the roster to compete for the kicking job.
Nobody impressed the coaching staff enough and after final cutdowns, Gutekunst signed Brayden Narveson who had been cut by the Tennessee Titans despite a strong preseason.
Unfortunately, Narveson also struggled. He missed at least one kick in four of his six games with the team. A penalty wiped out a missed kick in one of the other two games. The missed kicks cost the Packers in some early season games that they lost by a small margin.
Changes Are Made
After Week 6, Gutekunst signed McManus, a 10-year veteran who was recently reinstated by the NFL after some off-the-field issues. McManus had won a Super Bowl with the Broncos and was extremely accurate from inside 50 yards.
McManus made an immediate impact. He may not possess as much leg strength as Carlson or Narveson, but the Temple alum has been extremely consistent.
He hit the game-winning field goal in each of his first two games with the Pack. His 45-yard boot on the final play beat the Houston Texans 24-22. One week later, his 24-yard kick on the final play of the game gave the Pack a 30-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
By hitting clutch kicks in his first two games with the team, McManus certainly helped inspire confidence from his teammates and coaches.
That confidence has proven to be well founded. In eight games with the Packers thus far, McManus has made all 23 extra points he’s attempted while making 14-of-15 field goals. His only miss came in Week 9 against Detroit under very wet and windy conditions.
As a result of McManus’ consistency and clutch performances, the Packers kicking issues seem to be behind them.
Brandon McManus Has Solved the Packers Kicking Problems: Looking Ahead
McManus appears to have won over his new teammates. Quarterback Jordan Love expressed what many Packers players felt when he said, “We have a lot of confidence [in McManus]. Since he’s got here, he’s just proven who he is and what he’s about. He’s made some really big-time kicks for us, and he’s come in and taken over that role and he’s done a great job,” Love said. “To know you’ve got a guy who you’ve just got to get into his range and he’s going to put it through the uprights, it’s a good feeling to have.”
Meanwhile, head coach Matt LaFleur joked with reporters that, “I don’t really even watch it all the time anymore,” when McManus comes into the game to kick. Last year, he joked that when Carlson came in to attempt a kick, he said a prayer.
Come playoff time, when games are often close and the margin for error is small, the Packers will need McManus to deliver. Remember, a year ago, Carlson missed a field goal that would have put the Packers ahead by a touchdown. That came in the fourth quarter of their eventual three-point loss to the 49ers.
At least this year, they enter the postseason with a lot more confidence in their kicker.
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