GLENDALE, Ariz. – Based on pregame warmups, Lucas Havrisik wouldn't have guessed he was about to etch his name into the Packers' record books.
The second-year kicker struggled to find his groove before his second appearance in relief of an injured Brandon McManus, who missed Green Bay's matchup with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday due to a right quad injury.
Blessed with another opportunity to impress the rest of the NFL, Havrisik added to his ever-growing legend when he drilled the longest field goal in the Packers' 106-year history from 61 yards before halftime in an eventual 27-23 Green Bay victory.
All-time leading scorer Mason Crosby previously held the record with his first 58-yard field goal back in 2011. Truthfully, Havrisik didn't see it coming.
"I didn't have a great pregame, if I'm being honest," Havrisik said. "You just gotta have confidence. My body didn't feel great. It is what it is, but you can't let stuff impact your brain. You gotta just trust what you do and all the preparation and how many times you've hit a rep."
Signed on Oct. 8, Havrisik promptly went 5-for-5 on his kicks in a 27-18 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but the encore might have been even more impressive considering the circumstances.
His heroics came a key time for the Packers, whose offense was off to a slow start and whose defense had just given up a 15-yard touchdown to Trey McBride.
With his team trailing 13-3 with seven seconds left in the first half but still one timeout remaining, Head Coach Matt LaFleur put his foot on the gas.
Quarterback Jordan Love completed a 22-yard pass to Romeo Doubs, which gave Havrisik just enough time to kick a ball into the net and jog out for the record-setting kick.
"We had a lot of trust in that situation and he came up big-time for us," defensive end Micah Parsons said. "Obviously that's not what we want to do at the end of the half, to give up seven but .... that's the complementary side, when they mess up, make up for us, and we made up for them, and that's the good things."
Havrisik, who kicked at the University of Arizona, had a previous career long of 57 yards (twice). Prior to Sunday, the longest he'd made in the NFL was a 52-yarder with the Los Angeles Rams.
Havrisik was grateful for the opportunity to not only make another case for permanent NFL employment but also get a shot for redemption after missing a 50-yarder and an extra point at State Farm Stadium back in 2023 as a member of the Rams.
"It's just really cool having an opportunity in (that) stadium," Havrisik said. "The adrenaline was so up and I was trying to calm myself. I hit it and felt good, but you really don't know until it's headed a little further than 10, 15 yards. It was a straight pure ball. Everybody did a really good job."
Jacobs' calf game: One week after overcoming illness on his way to a 150-yard, two-TD day, Josh Jacobs again came through for Green Bay despite being less than 100%.
Still listed on the injury report with an illness all week, the Pro Bowl running back came out of Friday's practice with a calf injury that made him a true game-time decision vs. the Cards.
Jacobs said the Packers "didn't really want me to play today," but he convinced the team doctors and training staff he was good to go. Despite being on a snap count of 20-25 plays, Jacobs ran 13 times for 55 yards and two TDs.
"This organization, they do a really good job of protecting the players," Jacobs said. "At the end of the day, I feel like you also gotta know who you're talking to. I'm one of those guys, man, if I feel like I can (play) and I'm not gonna hurt the team by trying to play, I'm gonna play then."
Jacobs scored both touchdowns in the second half – the first of which (a 7-yard TD run) converted a Rashan Gary strip sack into points that tied the game at 13 early in the third quarter.
His second (a 1-yard TD with 1 minute, 50 seconds left) gave the Packers their first lead of the afternoon at 27-23.
While stating his case to play, Jacobs told the trainers the last time he tweaked his calf late in the practice week he responded with a 303-yard day against Seattle in 2022.
"It's always fun to win," Jacobs said. "Guys up front, man, they've been playing great. They've been getting better each and every week. The receivers are coming down, blocking out safeties and stuff, making my job easy and allowing me to just be who I am."
Kraft in the clutch: LaFleur showed confidence in his offense when the called the kicking team off and sent his offense back on the field on fourth-and-2 with the Packers trailing 23-20 with 2:32 remaining.
Quarterback Jordan Love and tight end Tucker Kraft rewarded their coach with a 15-yard pass to the Arizona 14. Three plays later, Jacobs scored the go-ahead touchdown.
"It's turning into more of a four-down league every year, teams are going for it more and more on fourth down, so (that's) just showing that confidence in your offense," said Kraft, who had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.
"Instead of just trying to tie it up, really just trying to put the dagger in the rest of the game, give the ball back to our defense and just have that trust that they can win us the game."
A takeaway and a key stop: The Packers' defense ended its recent takeaway drought when safety Evan Williams recovered his first NFL fumble off Gary's strip sack of Jacoby Brissett at the beginning of the second half.
The offense needed just four plays to go 44 yards and tie the game at 13 with Jacobs' first TD.
Trailing 23-20 in the fourth quarter, Green Bay punted the ball back to Arizona with a little more than eight minutes left. The Cardinals opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 48 but the defensive line didn't relent and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie came around the edge to tackle Brissett for no gain.
"We knew Brissett likes to sneak the ball on short distances so in my head, that's what we all were expecting throughout the week," McDuffie said. "Once I saw him put his head down, I just dove and just tried to get any part of him that I could and kinda just pull him back."
