It didn’t end up mattering at the end, but for the first half of the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, it looked like kicker Brandon McManus was going to cost them the game.
McManus was essentially responsible for a nine-point swing in the first half. A missed 57-yard field goal came up short to start the second quarter, and put Pittsburgh in great field position to easily set themselves up for a field goal of their own to trim Green Bay’s lead to 7-6.
Jordan Love and the offense
were able to set up McManus for a much easier attempt just before halftime, but McManus sliced the 44-yard attempt wide left to keep the Steelers up 16-7 (a nine-point lead!) going into the locker room.
By the time McManus was called on again for a field goal, the Packers were already up 10 in the fourth quarter, and his chip shot 28-yard field goal extended the lead to 32-19. He hit another from 25 yards out shortly after.
McManus has been out for the last couple of games, and it seems pretty obvious from the outside looking in that he felt threatened by the arrival of Lucas Havrisik, a last-second addition who has been excellent as a fill-in starter during the veteran’s absence. Not only did he go a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points and 4-for-4 on field goals, but Havrisik even set the franchise record with a 61-yard field goal against the Arizona Cardinals.
Instead of letting Havrisik keep his hot streak going, the Packers trusted McManus to tell the team that he was 100 percent healthy. The Packers took McManus’ word for it, which is a bigger question mark considering the quality of the field at Acrisure Stadium, which looked less than ideal before kickoff.
McManus isn’t the first player to presumably tell the trainer that he was 100 percent healthy when that seemingly wasn’t the case. Zach Tom tried to play through an oblique issue earlier this season, but lasted one offensive snap before having to be pulled against the Cleveland Browns.
However, with how crucial the field goal game ended up being in Sunday night’s game, there needs to be some accountability. The question is whether or not a performance like this is enough to warrant cutting an established veteran like McManus.
That’s now four missed goals for the 34-year-old kicker this season, including three between 40 and 49 yards, along with a missed extra point. For reference, Green Bay’s previous kicker, Brayden Narverson, was cut in 2024 after missing five field goals (12-of-17), but missing zero extra points.
Maybe Matt LaFleur and Rich Bisaccia will let McManus off the hook, but given the context and his injury status heading into this one, there might be consequences for pushing to play.
