With one second left in the first half Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, Brandon McManus lined up to attempt an NFL record 65-yard field goal.
But Broncos coach Vic Fangio changed his mind, pulling McManus off the field and sending rookie quarterback Drew Lock and the confused offense back on. McManus was fired up, yelling at Fangio as he stormed to the sideline and then spiking his helmet.
Fangio said his reasoning for not kicking in the situation — the Broncos were eventually pegged with a delay-of-game penalty on the play and didn’t get any points on the drive — was because the attempt would have been out of “desperation”.
“I’ve seen many times where guys try extra-long kicks, and they alter their mechanics and it affects them the rest of the game,” Fangio said.
McManus, in a calmer state after drilling a 53-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 23-20 win as time expired, disagreed with his coach.
“Does a Hail Mary change the way a quarterback throws the ball?” McManus asked rhetorically.
McManus, whose career-long field goal is 57 yards, has hit a field goal as far as 75 yards in practice. So he says “of course” he was sending a message to Fangio when he took the field for halftime warmups at Mile High and promptly began practicing kicks from the 65-yard mark.
“(Fangio) hasn’t been here that long to see my total range, in training camp over the years and (practices and games),” McManus said. “I knew I could make it, they’ve seen me make it in practice, and we were right at the line that I gave them.”
The second-quarter spat could have been the defining moment in McManus’ day, but it wasn’t.
In addition to his game-winner, which was a career-long, McManus also hit two other field goals. It marked a bounce-back after McManus’ missed field goal in the fourth quarter in Minnesota two weeks ago cost the Broncos a chance for a game-winning field goal on the team’s final drive.
“I was just proud of (staying mentally focused) because one way is to take your frustration and let it affect you later throughout the game,” McManus said. “But I was happy that I was able to hone it in.”
Still, it’s not every day the situation sets up seemingly perfect for a chance to break an NFL record. After all, the Broncos’ Matt Prater set the current record of 64 yards in the same situation, with a field goal that sailed through the uprights at Mile High on the final play of the first half against the Titans on Dec. 8, 2013.
For that reason, McManus stood unapologetic at the podium postgame, still wistful about his would-be opportunity.
“At the end of the day, I’m mad because I didn’t get to kick it, and in (Fangio’s) mind he made the right decision for the team,” McManus said. “I have no problem with that. I would just love to have my name etched in the history books.”
