TODAY WE SPELL REDEMPTION…. M-A-S-O-N. #GoPackGo #GBvsCIN pic.twitter.com/5iuT9KWn2K
— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2021
The fourth time is the charm for Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby.
The always reliable veteran kicker missed three potential game-winning kicks before nailing his fourth opportunity late in overtime during a wild and almost unbelievable end to the Packers’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
After the game tied at 22-22 late in the fourth quarter, everything went haywire in the kicking game.
Crosby missed from 36 yards with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter, from 51 yards as time expired in the fourth quarter and from 40 yards with 8:12 left in overtime. The Bengals and Packers conspired to give him a fourth shot, and Crosby sent his 49-yard field goal sailing through the uprights with 1:58 left in overtime.
Crosby wasn’t the only one missing. Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson missed from 57 yards with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter and from 49 yards with 4:19 left in overtime. The first kick would have given the Bengals the lead late, the second would have won the game outright.
After McPherson’s second miss, the Packers drove 29 yards to give Crosby another chance.
“I was really happy to hit that last one,” Crosby said.
Crosby said he went into the final kick feeling comfortable from the left hash, where he hit two field goals earlier in the contest.
Crosby missed an extra point in the first half, but his first two field goals extended his franchise record to 26 consecutive made field goals.
Entering Sunday, Crosby was 6-for-6 on field goals and 11-for-11 on extra points, and he hadn’t missed two field goals in a game since Oct. of 2018.
The kick was Crosby’s second game-winning field goal of the 2021 season. He hit the game-winner as time expired during the Packers’ 30-28 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.
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