{"id":668047,"date":"2026-01-11T05:56:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/668047\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:56:18","slug":"mcmanus-a-hero-of-broncos-super-bowl-run-endures-postseason-nightmare-a-decade-later-denver-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/668047\/","title":{"rendered":"McManus, a hero of Broncos’ Super Bowl run, endures postseason nightmare a decade later \u2013 Denver Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brandon McManus was a massive reason why the Broncos marched to their third world championship in the 2015 postseason.<\/p>\n

A decade later, his misfires were a central reason for the Green Bay Packers\u2019 exit from the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The former Broncos kicker missed three kicks \u2014 including an extra point \u2014 as the Packers collapsed at Soldier Field on Saturday night, blowing a 21-3 halftime lead to fall 31-27 to their arch-rivals to fall in the wild-card round and complete a late-season fade that saw them lose five consecutive games<\/a> to close the season after starting 9-3-1.<\/p>\n

McManus missed wide left from 55 yards to close the first half after the Bears had called a timeout. He hit the initial kick executed just as the Bears called for the stoppage before hooking the rekick wide.<\/p>\n

With 6:36 remaining, McManus missed an extra point wide left, a miss that proved costly when the Packers were forced to drive for a touchdown in the game\u2019s final moments when trailing by four points. A game-tying field goal wasn\u2019t an option when the Packers drove to the Green Bay 28-yard line.<\/p>\n

Of course, even if the Packers would have had a chance for a field goal in the final seconds, McManus had already logged a miss from the 40s; he pulled a 44-yard attempt wide right with 2:51 remaining.<\/p>\n

The lousy night capped a frustrating season for McManus in which he finished 28th in the NFL in field-goal percentage, hitting 80 percent of his attempts. The only time he was lower than that since 2019 \u2014 in 2022, when he connected on 77.6 percent of his field-goal tries \u2014 Sean Payton released him the following offseason<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All this came 10 years to the month after McManus had a perfect playoff run, going 10-for-10 on field-goal attempts \u2014 including two from beyond 50 yards \u2014 and hitting all of his extra-point tries as the Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers to win Super Bowl 50.<\/p>\n

McManus\u2019 perfect postseason in January and February 2016 helped cement his credibility as the Broncos\u2019 kicker after a rough 2014 season that saw Connor Barth relieve him on placekicks in November of that year. That led to a training-camp competition in 2015 which McManus won, starting an eight-year run as the Broncos\u2019 placekicker which ended when Payton released him during OTAs in May 2023.<\/p>\n

The Broncos eventually replaced McManus with Wil Lutz, who has hit 89 percent of his field-goal attempts \u2014 including 67 percent from 50 yards or greater \u2014 since then. Denver signed Lutz to a contract extension in November<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McMANUS\u2019 MISFIRES HELPED CAP A FIVE-WEEK PACKERS MELTDOWN<\/p>\n

Green Bay\u2019s troubles began Dec. 14 at Denver. Leading 23-14 against the Broncos, the Packers fell apart in the second half, not only losing the lead but absorbing the season-ending loss of All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to a torn ACL.<\/p>\n

The Broncos blitzed past Chicago with a 20-3 finishing kick for a 34-26 win<\/a> in a game that had been billed as a possible Super Bowl preview.<\/p>\n

In the end, the team\u2019s Week 15 duel turned out to be two trains headed in opposite directions. Denver went on to claim the AFC\u2019s top seed; the Packers never won again.<\/p>\n

The clubs will meet again in 2027 at Lambeau Field.<\/p>\n

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