The Green Bay Packers won their fourth game in a row today and I’m still trying to process what just happened. Mason Crosby missed three straight game winning field goals before making a 49-yarder with two minutes left in overtime. It was insane!
It was an odd game from the start. Aaron Rodgers threw an ugly pick on the Packers’ second possession. The Packers’ defense held, though, and in fact was playing fairly well against second-year sensation Joe Burrow. The Bengals did go 51 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter to take 7-0 lead. The Packers immediately answered with a 75-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to A.J. Dillon. That is where Crosby’s problems began. He pull-hooked the extra point for his first miss of any kind this season.
I certainly wasn’t worried about that. Crosby has been known to miss extra points, I think he missed five of them last year. But to miss not one, not two, but three kicks to win the game boggles the mind. His ability to not let that him bother him and go out there hit nail that last one tells you all you need to know about Crosby and why he has survived this long in the NFL. That was impressive, he’ll be fine the rest of the year.
Defense battled through injuries
The Packers’ defense certainly battled valiantly without their two best players. And when De’Vondre Campbell, the Packers early MVP on defense went down, it seemed all was lost. But Campbell returned and his interception in overtime should have won the game for the Packers. Nope.
The Bengals had good field position after that Crosby miss and promptly moved down the field into field goal range. But after reaching the Packers’ 37-yard line the Bengals played not to lose and ran three straight plays for five yards. That left a 49-yard field goal attempt for a rookie kicker Evan McPherson. Nope.
From there Rodgers drove the Packers to the Bengals’ 32-yard line setting up Crosby one last time. Money!
The Packers are 4-1 and still in first place in the division. Next week that position will be on the line in Chicago. It’s Bear week.