NFL Week 8 Overreactions
Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the wildest games from Week 8.
Sports Seriously
The Green Bay Packers have gone from rags to riches in the kicking game now that newcomer Brandon McManus has buried game-winning field goals as time expired in consecutive weeks. It turns out one of their previous options had something left in the tank, as well.
Anders Carlson hit field goals of 50, 44 and 41 yards for the San Francisco 49ers on “Sunday Night Football,” playing an integral role in the 49ers’ 30-24 defeat of Dallas. Carlson also made all three of his extra points, which hasn’t always been a guarantee.
It’s only Carlson’s third completely clean game in his last 14 contests, including two playoff games with the Packers last year and his debut with San Francisco last week, when he delivered on field goals of 55 yards and 24 yards but missed his lone extra-point attempt.
Both of Carlson’s games with the 49ers have been at Levi’s Stadium, where he missed a crucial 41-yarder in the fourth quarter in the Packers’ 24-21 divisional-round playoff loss last year that marked his last game with the team.
Carlson, the sixth-round choice in the 2023 draft, battled Greg Joseph in training camp, but the team elected to try a third option, ex-Titans rookie Brayden Narveson, before turning the page to McManus two weeks ago.
Carlson went 34-for-39 in extra points during the regular season for Green Bay last year and 27-for-33 in field goals, with an extra-point miss in Dallas against the Cowboys during the wild-card round (though still going 6-for-7) and the field-goal miss against San Francisco.
Will Anders Carlson be on the roster when the Packers play San Francisco on Nov. 24?
Carlson is still technically a member of the 49ers practice squad, elevated because starter Jake Moody suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 5; Moody is now on injured reserve and out until at least Week 11. The 49ers initially signed Matthew Wright to take his place, but Wright dislocated his shoulder in his San Francisco debut and also landed on injured reserve. He’s out until Week 12 at the earliest.
The 49ers have a bye next week and could elevate Carlson one more time for the Week 10 clash against Tampa Bay. To use him again after that, San Francisco would need to put him on the active roster, but Moody would also be eligible to return for the Nov. 17 game against Seattle.
Unless Moody and Wright can’t play again, it seems unlikely Carlson would still be kicking for San Francisco by the Nov. 24 battle against the Packers in Week 12.
The win dropped Dallas to 3-4, a troubled start for former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, whose seat is getting hotter by the week.
Former Badgers running back Isaac Guerendo scores first NFL touchdown, clears 100 yards
One of Carlson’s extra points came after a touchdown by former Wisconsin Badgers running back Isaac Guerendo, his first career NFL touchdown. Guerendo transferred to Louisville for his final year of college football, showed well at the NFL combine and was drafted by the 49ers in the fourth round.
Guerendo, pressed into increased duty because of multiple running-back injuries, had 14 carries for 85 yards and caught three passes for 17 yards.
What’s Greg Joseph up to?
Joseph latched on with the New York Giants, and he’ll be on national television with his team facing Pittsburgh on “Monday Night Football.”
Joseph has hit nine of 12 field goals this year, with all three misses coming in that 40- to 50-yard range that has become terrifying for Packers fans. He has made all six of his extra points.
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