GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brandon McManus still has a few of things to work on: learning everyone’s name on the Green Bay Packers , how to do a Lambeau Leap and who invented the famous celebration should top his list.
The important stuff — like, for example, nailing a game-winning field goal as time expires just days after joining a new team — he has down pat.
The 11th-year veteran, who had not kicked in a game since the end of last season before the Packers signed him on Wednesday, drilled a 45-yarder on his first official field goal with the team to give Green Bay a 24-22 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Such is the difference between a Super Bowl-winning kicker like McManus, who won one with the Denver Broncos , and a rookie like Brayden Narveson , who was released this past week after he missed five field goals in the first six games of the season.
“Obviously, he’s kicked in big-time moments, so he doesn’t get flustered,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “And obviously this ain’t the Super Bowl, so it comes a lot easier for him and he doesn’t feel all that pressure and we was able to execute. So we love it.”