Zac Boyer will be entering his third season covering the Washington Redskins for The Free Lance-Star this fall. Make sure to follow Zac on Twitter (@ZacBoyer) for the latest updates or e-mail him with any questions at zboyer@freelancestar.com.
Discussions Over Milestones Forecast Kai Forbath’s Game-Winning Field Goal
By ZAC BOYER
LANDOVER, Md. – When Kai Forbath mentioned to Nick Sundberg early last week that he hasn’t kept any of the footballs from any game he’s played in, Sundberg convinced him they could be neat souvenirs to have once his playing days are over.
Forbath
“I’ll keep my first game-winner,” Forbath promised him.
On Sunday, as Forbath made a 34-yard field goal in overtime to help the Washington Redskins defeat Baltimore 31-28 in overtime, Sundberg remembered the promise. The long snapper spotted an equipment manager walking off with the ball and chased after him, eschewing the celebration to start Forbath’s collection.
“Those are the moments that kickers want,” Forbath said. “When they come, you’ve got to take advantage of them, and thankfully, I did.”
Forbath made two other field goals for the Redskins on Sunday, both in the third quarter – a 48-yarder with 10:27 remaining and a 49-yarder with 1:21 left to play.
He has now made all 14 of his field goals since he was signed on Oct. 9 and is just two conversions shy of tying the record set by New Orleans’ Garrett Hartley in 2008.
“I just let him know it’s just another field goal, and to hit it easy like he’s been hitting all the others,” said punter Sav Rocca, the holder for Forbath’s placekick attempts. “As punters and kickers, we really don’t want to take the situation into account.”
Forbath last made a game-winner while in college, helping UCLA to a 17-14 victory over Oregon State with a 51-yarder.
The Redskins originally had Forbath take the field on second down from the Baltimore 19-yard line, but the coaching staff didn’t want to rush him with the play clock winding down. Instead, Washington ran another play – a 1-yard gain by Alfred Morris – and Forbath made the attempt.
Sundberg wasn’t the only one who predicted the moment with a pre-game chat.
“I was telling Sav that a lot of NFL games come down to field goals and we hadn’t had one, so I kind of had a feeling today was going to – and it did,” Forbath said. “Fortunately, we came out on the right side of it.”
