Watch: Broncos' Brandon McManus hits insanely long field goal in camp practice
Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus wowed the crowd, his teammates and even himself on Friday during the team’s training camp practice when he nailed a 73-yard field goal from the left hash mark.
You can watch below:
Broncos K Brandon McManus nailed a 73 yard FG during practice today….. 73! (via @thekidmcmanus) pic.twitter.com/r98xayDxfW
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) August 4, 2017
Think about that for a second: a 73-yard attempt means McManus wasn’t even at midfield.
Knowing that his kicker could hit from the offense’s side of the 50, Broncos coach Vance Joseph said he wouldn’t hesitate to put McManus on the field for a 70-yard attempt.
“Of course,” Joseph said. “Whatever wins games, we want to go for it.”
The make was McManus’s second attempt from the distance. He was just short on the first, and told Joseph he’d make it the second time.
“That’s a true weapon, guys. I mean, that was amazing,” Joseph said. “That was what, 73 yards, maybe? In the first one, he just swung his leg and he was, what, two yards off. The second one, he said, ‘I’ll make it for you this time.’ …That was special.”
McManus, entering his fourth season in the NFL, has fashioned a solid career for himself thus far: he’s converted 68-of-82 field goals (82.9 percent) with a career long of 57 yards in the regular season; over the last two seasons, he’s made eight of 13 field goal tries from 50-plus yards.
McManus is also perfect in the postseason, with a long of 52 yards.
The longest kick in NFL history is 64 yards, by Denver’s Matt Prater on Dec. 8, 2013 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Not surprisingly, three of the five longest kicks in NFL history (four 63-yarders and the 64-yarder), were made in Denver, where the high altitude means thinner air, which allows the ball to travel a bit farther.
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