It was a rough go of it for the kickers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday as both Lucas Havrisik and Younghoe Koo had their fair share of issues putting the ball between the uprights in the Green Bay Packers’ 27-20 victory over the New York Giants in Week 11.
With windy conditions not making kicking opportunities ideal for either team, we did not see a single field goal attempted throughout the game. There were six total extra point opportunities, though, and they were a wild ride for all parties involved. In the end, Havrisik missed two of his three point after touchdown (PAT) attempts while Koo missed one of three.
Naturally, despite the win, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was less than pleased with the results that came from the kicking game.
LaFleur Makes No Excuses After Havrisik Struggles in Kicking Game
With Brandon McManus clearly the favorite in the clubhouse among the kicking options in Green Bay, there isn’t much room, if any, for Havrisik to struggle when he finds his way onto the field. That is what happened on Sunday, and while it didn’t cost Green Bay the game, LaFleur was not exactly making any excuses for the in-season signing when he was asked how much of an impact the wind had on the misses.
“I mean, I don’t know. I’m not a kicker,” LaFleur replied, via the team’s official YouTube page.
“But it certainly, I think it was impactful. But the bottom line is, and we experience this quite often in our practice facility where it is windy, and you ultimately you got to find a way.”
After McManus missed Sunday’s win over New York with a quad injury, Havrisik did not capitalize on what would have been a prime opportunity to put himself in position to take the job for the home stretch. As we saw, Havrisik did the exact opposite and, if anything, probably just provided McManus with a firmer grasp on the job despite the fact he was too injured to take the field in Week 11.
With the outdoor elements that Green Bay faces late in the season and into the playoffs, having a kicker that is as close to a sure thing as possible is not a luxury for the Packers; it is a necessity. Havrisik was perfect on his attempted kicks entering the afternoon, but now he has his head coach publicly questioning his effectiveness to the media.
We’ll find out soon enough what Week 12 brings as Green Bay has another tough matchup on the horizon against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on Nov. 23.
