A walk-off field goal has the power to erase the pain of a lot of other special teams’ miscues.
Randy Bullock drilled a 37-yard field goal as time expired Monday night to cap a wild ride for the Giants’ special teams and provide the decisive points in a 24-22 victory against the Packers.
“More than anything, I just wanted a chance to redeem myself for earlier in the game,” said Bullock, who missed a 48-yard attempt in the first quarter. “I misjudged [the wind on] that first one and that was really frustrating.”
Bullock, who missed a last-second field goal for the Titans against the Giants in the 2022 season opener, joined the Giants on Nov. 2, replacing an injured Graham Gano.
“You can’t overthink the moment. Go out and bang it through and get a win for the team,” Bullock said. “I felt like I hit it really good.”
After years of bad luck on last-second field goals, the Giants have won two straight on a missed field goal by the Patriots and now Bullock’s welcome-to-the-Giants moment.
“It’s been a fun ride for me — kind of crazy getting here and thrown into the fire,” Bullock said. “This organization — the coaches, the players, everybody — has really embraced me and made me feel part of it since I got here.”
Here is a look at three other special teams plays that impacted the game:
Lawrence Cager’s gaffe
Trailing 10-7 with 12 seconds remaining in the first half, the Giants should have had the break needed to avoid just kneeling out the half. Anders Carlson’s kickoff was about to roll out of bounds but Lawrence Cager touched the ball first. All that Cager had to do was step out of bounds and then reach back to touch the ball, which would have meant possession at the 40-yard line and one play to get into field-goal range. Instead his muff cost a minimum of 29 yards of field position — and maybe points?
Jamie Gillan’s knuckleball
The Giants turned the tables in the third quarter when Jamie Gillan — the NFC’s leading Pro Bowl vote-getter at punter — lined a knuckleball down the field. Keisean Nixon muffed the catch, fell on the ball and then mistakenly tried to get to his feet. Darnay Holmes — a relative newcomer as a gunner — seized an opportunity to knock the ball loose from a stumbling Nixon and Benton Whitley recovered to set up a Giants’ go-ahead touchdown drive.
The Bobby McCain bounce
Where the punt coverage team delivered, the punt return team failed. A bouncing punt hit off an unaware Bobby McCain’s hip and resulted in a fumble. As much as McCain is to blame, returner Gunner Olszewski needed to do a better job making his teammates aware of the dangers and clearing them out of harm’s way. The Giants’ defense picked up the special teams by holding the Packers to a field goal on a drive that started inside the red zone.
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