- Brandon McManus
McManus is arguably the team MVP through five weeks of the season. He is a perfect 12-for-12 on field goals, has been exceptional on kickoffs and even had a great punt last week against the Oakland Raiders. He has quietly been a major contributor to the team’s 5-0 start, but this week it will be magnified due to the Browns’ own impressive kicker.
Second year kicker, Travis Coons is 11-for-11 this season, including a 32-yard game-winner last week in overtime versus the Baltimore Ravens. However, he his longest made attempt this season is only 43 yards and his kickoffs have been returned over 50 percent of the time. McManus has hit several field goals over 50 yards, including a 57-yard make in Week 1 versus the Ravens. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis spoke Thursday about facing the Browns, who have been performing well on special teams, and the heightened attention that brings to Sunday’s contest.
“I think our guys definitely have a heightened sense of urgency this week. When you watch No. 11 [Travis Benjamin] back there, I think he’s 15.4 [avg.] and he’s already had a score. He’s got great speed and he’s done it in his career before he was hurt. He was outstanding there, too. It’s going to be a heck of a challenge for us. They’ve got another one, [CB] Justin Gilbert—I believe he was like the tenth pick in the draft—returning kickoffs. They’ve just got a heck of a special teams. They’ve been good.”
McManus remains the top-ranked kicker on Pro Football Focus and last week’s win highlighted why his role is so significant. Raiders kicker and All-Pro Sebastian Janikowski had a field goal blocked and missed another while McManus hit all three of his attempts on a day in which the Broncos offense struggled. Sunday, Kubiak is hoping McManus will be kicking several extra points instead of field goals, but if that does not happen and it once again comes down to the final minutes, McManus needs to win the kicking battle again.
