Mason Crosby takes his first leap after game-winner

[Cheesehead]

GREEN BAY – Mason Crosby and Hunter Bradley had talked about this possibility for the better part of a year.


The idea of the Packers’ longtime kicker and second-year long snapper executing a Lambeau Leap in tandem whenever the field-goal unit made its next game-winner.


Fittingly, one day shy of the one-year anniversary of Crosby’s last game-winner against San Francisco, Green Bay’s all-time leading scorer hit another from 23 yards to propel the Packers to a 23-22 victory over the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.


It was one of three field goals Crosby made on Monday night, including a 37-yard attempt before halftime and a 48-yard try early in the third quarter.


After clinching the Packers’ fifth win of the 2019 campaign, Crosby did need a little help remembering what to do next. Fortunately, Bradley was there to usher the kicker’s first Lambeau Leap in 12-plus seasons in Green Bay.


“If you kind of saw, he had gone through the line and I see him, and it was like, ‘Oh, this is happening now,’” said Crosby, who’s made 10 of his 11 field-goal attempts this year. “I didn’t like running from my teammates, it feels odd to me, I like celebrating with the guys, but that was pretty awesome.”


Bradley said the negotiations to do a Lambeau Leap together “became more serious” during the offseason program with the two “FIFA” video-game players exchanging ideas for how to go about it.


The original plan called for the long snapper to hold his hands out to lift Crosby to the fans. Bradley was positioned for that prior to his kicker lunging for the wall himself. Crosby was quickly followed by most of the field-goal unit and a barrage of Packers players from the sideline shortly thereafter.


“He was hyped,” Bradley said. “I was honestly just hoping that he remembered to do it because I took off running. Out of the corner of my eye, I just saw Mason flying down. I was like, ‘Alright, here we go.’ And then he got there and just jumped. I was like, ‘Well, I guess I'm just gonna throw him up there now.’ It was a cool experience.”


It was an emotional night on several fronts for Crosby. Professionally, it was a bit of redemption for his nightmarish game last year against the Lions in which Crosby missed four field goals and an extra point in a 31-23 loss at Ford Field.


On a personal level, Monday night was also the annual Packers vs. Cancer game. Crosby’s wife, Molly, had a neuroendocrine tumor removed the day after the Packers’ preseason finale against Kansas City.


Molly, progressing well in her recovery, was in attendance to watch her husband’s kick and the Lambeau Leap that followed.


“Just to be able to finish off a night like that, it’s definitely one we’ll remember,” Crosby said. “And just the initiative of the Packers vs. Cancer and the Crucial Catch that the NFL does, that’s special stuff. And what a community and the support that comes from that. I’m just so thankful to be able to have the opportunity to come out here and play football and get a win like this and then go and celebrate with my family.”