The Washington Football Team won in dramatic fashion on Sunday, beating the Las Vegas Raiders on a late field goal. The circumstances of that field goal, however, were particularly noteworthy.
Kicker Brian Johnson was brought in on Tuesday on an emergency basis due to an injury to regular kicker Joey Slye. Johnson was signed from the Chicago Bears’ practice squad and barely had time to get comfortable before being called into duty on Sunday. Johnson did not miss a beat, converting a 48-yard field goal with 42 seconds left to give Washington its fourth straight win.
That prompted a hilarious comment from Jonathan Allen. The defensive lineman admitted he was very nervous before Johnson’s kick, partly because he barely knew who his new teammate was.
Johnson isn’t totally inexperienced. He did hit a 33-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints to break a tie in the final two minutes of a Week 7 win at Seattle. He also missed three of his eight extra-point attempts for the Saints, so this was hardly a slam dunk.
Sometimes we hear about this sort of thing happening in preseason games. By this point in the regular season, guys generally know each other. This counts as a solid introduction for Johnson, who will have the chance to further impress with Slye out at least two more weeks.
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