The Green Bay Packers are just a half game behind the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC North following their 24-22 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon. The game was truly an intense one with multiple lead changes and fantastic plays by numerous players.
Following such a game, it is easy to point to big names and players that fill the stat sheet as major reasons for why a team wins. Jordan Love may have thrown two interceptions, but he also threw three touchdowns and orchestrated his fourth career game-winning drive. Romeo Doubs had eight receptions for 94 yards while Josh Jacobs accumulated 92 all-purpose yards and scored his first career receiving touchdown.
Defensively, Eric Wilson had the game of his life, registering four tackles for loss and two sacks. Rashan Gary piled up the pressures, had his second sack of the season, and made life miserable for CJ Stroud all day.
Brandon McManus, the new kicker, made the game-winning field goal as time expired just days after joining the team.
But former Packers All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari named a different player as the team’s best.
After the game, Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV posted on X (formerly Twitter) than Daniel Whelan averaged 56.8 yards per punt. It was the highest average yards per punt in team history since 1945 and is the second-highest mark in franchise history.
In response to Nagler’s post, Bakhtiari commented:
This is obviously not a knock against anyone else on Green Bay’s roster. Instead, it is a testament to how good Whelan is.
Head coach Matt LaFleur obviously agreed today, giving Whelan one of the three game balls. The other two went to defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and McManus.
Now, Whelan’s punts were incredibly important in the game because he kept Houston from getting good field position. However, he may have single-handedly saved the game on the final play.
Green Bay Packers Punter Daniel Whelan Is Also the Field Goal Placeholder
As fans who watched the game know, the snap on the final field goal was low. Whelan was still able to get the ball down in place in time and in position for McManus to make the kick.
It is not a stat that will show up in the box score, but what Whelan did is incredibly difficult. And it is something that he has spent hours upon hours practicing.
According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, “Punter and holder Daniel Whelan said the operation, including long snapper Matt Orzech, took 100 reps snapping and holding during the week and then a couple more before the game. Whelan practiced at home this week catching the snap how McManus likes, setting the ball down and holding it with McManus’ preferred amount of lean, which Whelan said is a little different than all the other kickers he’s held for in Green Bay.”
Schneidman added later, “Whelan also spent training camp last year, his first in the NFL, practicing his holds in hallways of the team hotel.”
The game of football in the NFL is one that requires so much attention to detail, even those that fans and analysts often overlook.
Whelan has become not only a master at punting, but at holding for his kickers. And today it made the difference between winning and losing.
