“I’m so grateful for my teammates and coaches; I’m in the perfect place and it’s just so gratifying,” Fitzgerald said, and because he’s a rookie, he’s still finding his voice in the postgame.
But those around him are feeling it, even if he’s not saying that much about it.
And Jansen said the confidence boost was the kind of thing that could last.
“I think the biggest thing with a young kicker is you’re trying to give them good opportunities to find their rhythm and flow,” the veteran snapper said. “But there’s also a game situation and today’s decision, whether you make it or miss it, you obviously want to make it, but that’s the right decision.
“This was the right opportunity for him, and the cool part was that he was very confident. I’ve taught him like, hey, here’s the deal, coaches are going to make that decision, but if you feel really, really good about a kick, just instantly go out on the field, and if they call you back, they call you back. But you’re demonstrating confidence not only to your coaching staff but to yourself and your teammates, and he did that.
“I mean, right behind me, he’s like, I want this, like, let’s go. And I think you saw it like Sam was super excited with the kick because we want him to do well, and he was confident, and he wanted that kick, and it fit into the flow of the game well, so it’s well done by him.”
And well done by a lot of them, on a day when they needed them all.