Sometimes coaches say things because they actually believe them. Other times coaches say things because they want to speak them into existence. Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s prediction that the Packers were going to block a kick in today’s game versus Chicago probably falls somewhere in between those two options.
Sure, special teams coordinators probably tell their teams every week they expect them to block a kick — and maybe they do! Maybe the Packers noticed an advantage somewhere on the kick formation line. Maybe Bisaccia’s prediction came true because Packers special teamers were so inspired their coach believed in them they had to get it done.
Whatever the reason, they did get the job done, blocking the most important kick of the game — the last one. Green Bay won on a blocked field goal as time expired, beating the Bears for an 11th time in a row.
Karl Brooks was the Packer who got his hand on the kick attempt, serving as the hero for Green Bay this week. Brooks essentially bull-rushed the snap and timed his jump perfectly to get just his fingertips on the ball, which was plenty to knock it off path.
Packers win second game in NFL game on a blocked field goal
Is blocking a field goal to win a game the new “kicking a field goal to win a game?” Well, probably not, but this is the second time in as many weeks that an NFL team has won a game with a walk-off block. Last week it was the Kansas City Chiefs, who blocked a Broncos field goal to stay undefeated. This week, it was Green Bay blocking the kick to continue its string of dominance against the Bears.
Two weeks in a row might just be a lucky break — but you can bet that special teams coordinators will be looking at what Kansas City and Green Bay did the past two weeks and trying to find that same advantage.