Anyone want a job as a kicker in Green Bay? The Packers might be looking for one after their current kicker, Mason Crosby missed four field goal attempts and an extra point in Green Bay’s 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Packers were a pick ’em going on the road to Ford Field, and if the 12-year veteran Crosby could have hit three of his four missed field goals, they would have won, thus covering the spread.
Instead Crosby became the first NFL kicker to miss four field goals and an extra point in the same game since Rolf Benirschke of the Chargers in 1980, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“Well, obviously shocked; it’s never happened to me,” Crosby said. “That’s never happened to me. It doesn’t happen. So I’m going to evaluate it but I’m going to (chalk) it up to something that is an anomaly in life that I’ve never even been a part of. So I’m going to evaluate the details like I do every week and move on. Because that one for me is something that I’ve never been a part of and hope to never be part of again.”
Bovada put out a line on whether the Packers all-time scoring leader would have a job before the team hosts San Francisco a week from Monday. The no was the favorite at -200, while the yes was at +150.
Kansas City, LA Rams Keep Rolling
The leagues two undefeated teams won on Sunday, but it wasn’t easy for one of them. The Los Angeles Rams traveled to Seattle as 7.5-point favorites and escaped with a 33-31 victory.
LA was trailing 31-24 going into the fourth quarter, but scored a touchdown and a field goal in the final 15 minutes.
The game was clinched on a controversial decision by Seattle coach Pete Carroll. The Rams were readying to punt with less than two minutes to play, but Carroll called a timeout. During the break, Rams coach Sean McVay was convinced by his players to go for it on fourth and one. They got the first down, allowing the team to run out the clock.
“When you look at it initially, you talk about punting it,’’ McVay said. “Because of their belief it made me confident. It was a little bit of a whirlwind, but everyone is on the (same) page. Once we make a decision, it’s final.”
The Chiefs had a much easier time, dispatching the Jacksonville Jaguars, 30-14. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t have any touchdowns, but did throw for 313 yards.
They were three-point favorites and are now 5-0 against the spread. They have also hit the over four of five times.
Rookie QB’s Set Record
With four of the five rookie quarterbacks picked in the first round starting on Sunday, the quartet made history. All four – Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield, New York’s Sam Darnold, and Arizona’s Josh Rosen – won their games.
While Darnold and Rosen had pretty easy outings, both the Jets and Cardinals winning by 10 points or more, Allen and Mayfield won squeakers. The Bills downed the Titans, 13-12, while the Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 12-9.
It is the first time, according to Elias Sports, that four starting rookie quarterbacks have gone 4-0 since the Super Bowl era.