Kickers Live Their Lives For All To See

Before he became the Washington Commanders’ sixth kicker of the season, in mid-November, Zane Gonzalez hadn’t kicked in an NFL game since 2021. He weathered injuries and training-camp battles at one of the more volatile, confounding positions in football. So his mere appearance in Sunday night’s Wild Card game and his doinked-in game-winning field goal made him an appropriate hero for the Cardiac Commanders, who have now won five straight games on the final play from scrimmage.

As a euphoric London Fletcher put it on the Commanders radio call, Gonzalez “kick[ed] in the door and kick[ed] us into the second round of the playoffs” in the team’s 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After the game, Gonzalez said he’d been dealing with some hip discomfort during his previous kick, but that he felt good about the attempt as it left his foot. “I’m just a small part of a big plan,” he told reporters, adding that he was excited to get home to his wife and newborn son.