The Green Bay Packers escaped against the New York Jets with a 20-17 overtime win thanks to the heroics of Jordan Love and a game-winning kick from Trey Smack. The rookie delivered and is now a perfect 5/5 in field goal attempts in the first two weeks of the season. It erases early summer concerns over missed kicks in practice and whether or not the franchise had made a mistake not bringing in any level of competition for an unproven rookie.
Only in the playoffs will the pressure ever be higher as Smack was put in position to hit a game-winner and made it with ease. It goes a long way in erasing the concern at the position after last year's debacle with Brandon McManus. The veteran kicker can be pointed to as the biggest reason the franchise suffered last year's playoff loss suffering an epic collapse in the biggest moment.
With this in mind, Green Bay fans needed a reason to put their arms around Smack and believe the young kicker wasn't walking the same path. Considering the results of the first two weeks of the season it is hard to be anything but thrilled with what Smack as shown and the range the talented leg offers Green Bay.
Smack hit a 59 yard kick in Week 1 that proved his range and left Green Bay fans a reminder of the elite scoring ability they now had even on stalled drives. Sunday's win over New York answered the final piece and that is whether or not there was the mental toughness to make an NFL game-winning kick.
Trey Smack Continues to Answer Every Packers Concern as Rookie's Impressive Start Continues
Kicking requires an underrated mental toughness that makes the league's most consistent scorers incredibly underrated. Normal kicks have this pressure with a game-winner clearly being a different animal and deciding games on a weekly basis in both directions. Green Bay now has the confidence that Smack can deliver whenever called upon.
This was the case for Love as well with the two most important scorers on Green Bay's roster both offering a level of assurance that Week 1 wasn't a sign of things to come for a roster that remains incredibly talented.
It will be interesting to watch how Matt LaFleur manages Smack moving forward as confidence in his range and clutch ability both continue to grow. No question, the Packers made the right decision and appear to have found their kicker for years to come.
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