There were a lot of positive takeaways for the Green Bay Packers from their Week 1 victory over the Chicago Bears. They went on the road to defeat a divisional rival 38-20 but most importantly, their young players stepped up.
There were a lot of concerns about the inexperience that was on the roster, as the Packers have the least experienced group in the NFL. But, through at least one week, that didn’t phase them. They played a great game against the Bears to get their team off to a 1-0 start.
Arguably the biggest standout from the first-time players was kicker Anders Carlson. The Packers used the sixth-round pick they received from the New York Jets in the Aaron Rodgers trade to select Carlson out of Auburn.
He has some huge shoes to fill, replacing long-time kicker Mason Crosby. Crosby had been with Green Bay since 2007 but the team opted to move on from him this offseason, going with Carlson.
At times in the offseason, it looked like they had made the wrong move. Carlson had a huge leg but was inconsistent during practice. Many people wondered if the Packers would look to bring back Crosby or sign another kicker to compete with him.
They didn’t, showing confidence in their rookie and in Week 1, he repaid them. Carlson went 5-for-5 on extra points and made his only field goal attempt of the game from 52 yards. That prompted Rob Demovsky of ESPN to name Carlson his best debut performer in Week 1.
“For all the angst over Carlson — from drafting him in the sixth round to moving on from franchise scoring leader Mason Crosby to an inconsistent preseason and training camp — he delivered in a big way with a 52-yard field goal to close out the first half vs. the Bears. The Packers mismanaged the clock after Jordan Love got sacked and had to use their last timeout. “Thank God Carlson made it, so it kind of covers up that mistake a little bit,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.”
That debut should put any worries people had about Carlson to bed, for now. He could not have gotten off to a better start in his Packers career, but he will be tested down the road once the weather starts changing in Green Bay. Crosby was able to navigate that with precision, something the team is hoping Carlson can also do.
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