Brandon McManus celebrated his game-winning field goal and his return to the NFL by doing — what else? — the Lambeau Leap.
Or maybe we should call it the “Lambeau Lift.”
“I definitely need to work on my hops," said McManus, who needed help from fans pulling and teammates pushing to get into the stands and revel in the time-honored ritual started by Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler back in 1993 when McManus was but a toddler.
His lurch into the stands wasn't nearly as graceful as his 45-yard field goal as time expired that give Green Bay a 24-22 victory over the Houston Texans, but it was among the highlights of the NFL's Week 7 that was dominated by joyous homecomings and rewarding returns.
Denver's defense and punishing ground game produced a 33-10 blowout of the Saints in New Orleans, where coach Sean Payton teamed with Drew Brees to give the Big Easy its only Super Bowl parade after the 2009 season.
Saquon Barkley had a happy homecoming at the Meadowlands, rushing for 176 yards and a touchdown in a 28-3 Eagles blowout of the Giants, who let him leave in free agency for Philadelphia in the offseason.
Russell Wilson, the quarterback Payton jettisoned in the offseason before the Broncos drafted Bo Nix, made his first start of the season after recovering from a strained calf and led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 37-15 win over the New York Jets, validating coach Mike Tomlin's benching of Justin Fields after a 4-2 start.
The Kansas City Chiefs (6-0) emerged as the NFL's lone unbeaten team after turning their Super Bowl rematch with the San Francisco 49ers into more of a reproduction, handling the scuffling 49ers 28-18 eight months after beating them 25-22 for their second straight championship.
Cleveland running back Nick Chubb returned from a gruesome knee injury early last season and ran for his first touchdown since Nov. 27, 2022, albeit in a game in which Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon.
Some Browns fans cheered while the divisive QB was on the ground writing in pain after he collapsed as he began to run. It was the same sort of non-contact injury that took down Aaron Rodgers in the Jets' opener last year.
Rodgers' reunion with Davante Adams was a bust at least for their first game back together. The wide receiver, who played with Rodgers in Green Bay and forced his way out of Las Vegas to reunite with the four-time MVP, caught just three of nine passes thrown his way for 30 yards.
That was just one more pass than Steelers rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop caught from Rodgers. The Steelers turned his pair of interceptions into game-turning scores as they closed on a 31-0 run after falling behind 15-6 early on.
Adams has the dubious distinction of having lost twice to the Steelers in back-to-back weeks and by a combined score of 69-28. He was inactive in the Raiders' 32-13 loss to Pittsburgh before the trade.
McManus joined the Packers midweek to replace struggling rookie kicker Brayden Narveson, who missed a league-high five field-goal tries.
McManus had been out of a job since late spring, when two women sued him and the Jacksonville Jaguars in civil court alleging he sexually assaulted them when they were working as flight attendants on the Jaguars’ trip to London. The NFL said late last month it didn’t find sufficient evidence that McManus violated its personal conduct policy and the case was resolved, according to attorneys.
McManus keyed the Packers win when he made all three of his extra points and made the game-winner — twice — the first one didn't count because Texans coach DeMeco Ryans turned to another time-honored tradition and called a timeout at the last moment to try to ice the veteran kicker.
He should have known better.
“I always want a practice kick if I can,” McManus said. “It was a little windy. Just seeing where the wind might move the ball. So, if I for some reason miss the first one, I've never missed back-to-back kicks in my career, so I feel pretty confident. So, I always want to have that practice kick if I can.”
After he connected on the one that counted, McManus made a beeline to the end zone stands for his first Lambeau Leap.
“I was fortunate enough to play for Denver a long time, it's a good tradition franchise,” McManus said. “There's nothing ... better than this one. Green Bay's a special place. That's why I decided to do the Lambeau Leap just because of growing up watching Brett Favre play and I think it was Ryan Grant who started it? Oh, LeRoy Butler, yes. But I just remember watching players do the Lambeau Leap.”
McManus has a little work to do on his leap — it's a lot higher of a wall than it looks on TV — and his team history, but he and the Packers fanbase are grateful for the experience.
“What a tradition and a franchise this is and I figured it would be cool to do that,” McManus said.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Arnie Stapleton, The Associated Press
