Cleveland Browns kicker Andre Szmyt wasn't just asked to make a game-winning field goal that would be the longest of his NFL and collegiate career; he wanted the moment on Thursday night. Interestingly, it sounds like Szmyt didn't even care where the ball ended up, because he was ready to send the Browns to 3-1 with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers regardless of the kick's distance.
While Szmyt made a 55-yarder in Week 3 of the 2025 season against the Green Bay Packers, his next-longest made NFL attempt came from 53 yards (twice) last year. None of that mattered for the 28-year-old, though, as his 56-yard field goal all but sealed the deal in a 27-24 win over the Steelers.
After the game, Szmyt and Browns head coach Todd Monken broke down the conversations
before the game-winning kick. As Monken revealed, Szmyt's message was about as direct and confident as possible, with the kicker telling his coach, "he could make" the 56-yarder.
and he DID go kick it and make it ☺️ pic.twitter.com/FWpl7Pd5y3
— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2026
If that wasn't convincing enough, Szmyt's postgame breakdown of his conversation with Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson summed up this team's confidence even better. As Szmyt told Ashley Bastock of Cleveland.com, when Watson asked him what line to get to for the field goal, the kicker admitted he'd "hit it from anywhere" but ultimately just said to make it a 60-yard field goal.
"He told me what line to get to, and I said, honestly, I'll hit it from anywhere," Szmyt said. "But I told him, just get to the 42; it'll make it a 60-yard field goal. Obviously, he got me a couple extra yards. Kudos to him; he played a heck of a game."
#Browns kicker Andre Szmyt on his game winner pic.twitter.com/XV5dGEksD5
— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) October 2, 2026
Szmyt went on to praise Cleveland's rest of the field goal unit, saying they make his job easy and execute at "such an elite level."
Szmyt's confidence was also on display for the Browns on both sides of the ball in Thursday's win, and that's a huge deal for a team looking to post its first .500 or better season since 2023, and do so for the third time since 2007. Not surprisingly, Browns teammates were just as confident in their kicker as he was in himself, with players calling it "automatic" and calling him the "best kicker in the league."
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Andre Szmyt's message to Todd Monken before game-winning FG perfectly summed up Browns' win
