Green Bay Packers sticking with kicker Anders Carlson

Green Bay Packers sticking with kicker Anders Carlson

For the third time in the past four games, Green Bay Packers kicker Anders Carlson missed an extra-point attempt on Sunday. Because the PAT was the third of seven that Carlson took a swing at in the playoff game, the miss didn’t make any difference in the Packers’ 48-32 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

Carlson has missed a kick in four consecutive games, pushing a 41-yard field-goal attempt to the left in the regular-season finale – a 17-9 victory over the Chicago Bears on Jan. 7, when he went 2-of-2 on extra points.

With Green Bay two victories from reaching Super Bowl LVIII, Packers coach Matt LaFleur was asked if the team had considered replacing its rookie kicker. That could be done without cutting Carlson by signing a veteran free-agent kicker to the practice squad, then elevating the new player to active status for game day if he showed he still had it during practice.

“We got a lot of confidence in him,” LaFleur said. “Yeah, you’d like him to make every kick, no doubt about it, but I think it’s part of the growth process. A lot of young, especially kickers, go though some trials and tribulations unfortunately. The one thing that’s been so great that you cannot coach is just the resiliency he’s shown because every time he misses one, he’s come back and he’s made them. We’d like to get through it without any hiccups, but again I think it’s part of the process. I think he’s still learning how to refine his game and there’s still a lot more out there for him, obviously. …

“We’re committed to him, and we’re going to see this thing through with him.”

The Packers picked Carlson from Auburn in the sixth round of the NFL Draft on April 29. He made 27-of-33 field-goal attempts and 34-of-39 extra-point kicks during the regular season. Although he has five misses on the 33-yard extra point, Carlson is 14-of-14 on field-goal attempts inside 41 yards.

Carlson has not missed consecutive kicks this season.

When asked about Carlson’s latest extra-point miss during his Thursday press conference, Green Bay special-teams coordinator Rick Bisaccia was abrupt with reporters.

“We’re on to the next game – San Francisco,” Bisaccia said, “and whatever happened in the last game happened, and we’ve looked at it, hopefully corrected it and we’re moving forward. …

“I got a tremendous amount of confidence in Anders.”

The Packers’ fourth consecutive victory propelled them into the Divisional Weekend of the NFL postseason. Green Bay will play the San Francisco 49ers at 7 p.m. CST Saturday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. FOX will televise the game.

While the Packers were upending the Cowboys, the 49ers enjoyed a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff field last week. San Francisco posted a 12-5 record during the regular season.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.