Brandon McManus beats himself up over missing 63-yard FG

It’s no joke that the Denver Broncos pretty much rely on kicker Brandon McManus (and their defense, too) for getting points on the board.

This makes games predictably terrible lately, but it’s always hard to swallow when the final moments of a game come down to a single play, a single moment. The Broncos looked a lot like me while playing Mario Kart: coasting in first place until the final round, getting hit by a Spiny Shell, and falling behind to 8th, 9th, 10th while everyone realizes I have no idea how to race.

No one (I hope!) is blaming McManus for the end of the metaphorical Mario Kart race, of course; had our offense been capable of scoring a few points on their own, we wouldn’t have needed the FG to save our butts.

The field goals leading up to that last one are significant in their own right, anyway, because McManus broke a Broncos record today: most 50+-yard field goals.

Despite this accomplishment, the placekicker didn’t offer himself very much compassion over that 63-yard FG attempt — the same distance of the FG that decided their loss to the Seahawks earlier this year.

McManus insisted that his prior injury didn’t bother him much and, when asked if it’s any consolation that he’s broken the Broncos record for number of 50-yard field goals made, he said it wasn’t. “No. It is cool, but I missed a 63-yard field goal.”

He did, however, offer some perspective on making some field goals versus missing others, and how it’s impossible to know which one will decide the game.

“Every kick is important. I can’t predict the future on how important a field goal in the first quarter or second quarter will help us win the game,” he shared, “I want to make every field goal, obviously.”

The kicker noted that the 45-yard line isn’t his friend this year, and that he “kicked the ground a little bit” when he tried for the 63-yarder.

“They pay me to kick field goals,” he said, “It’s my moment; I want it. It was in my range, but I left it short. I’m more upset with that.”

It’s not the most uplifting piece to share, but it’s also not uplifting to witness another ridiculous Broncos defeat. At any rate, I hope that after McManus shakes off this loss, he can celebrate breaking the record. While I admire his humility, the final score would’ve been 0-10 instead of 9-10 if it wasn’t for him.