Broncos kicker McManus ‘disappointed’ in missed overtime kick

It’s a situation Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus said any field goal artist dreams about: a 60-yarder to win the game.

With just over a minute left in overtime Sunday, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak had the confidence in giving McManus that opportunity to win the game — 62 yards to beat AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs.

“We’re going to try to win. I’ve seen ‘B-Mac’ do that many times in practice,” Kubiak said after the game. “It’s on me. I just gave them a chance. I thought we could do it, and we didn’t get it done.”

Indeed, the normally fairly sure-footed McManus left the kick short, giving the Chiefs the ball near midfield with time to drive down an kick a game-winning field goal — which they did as time expired.

“(Kubiak’s) seen me do it in practice. I was grateful for the opportunity. As a kicker, you dream of a 60-yard field goal to win,” McManus said after the game. “I’m disappointed in my effort for the result.”

McManus said he kicked the ground before striking the ball, which the kicker said he did on his successful attempt in early overtime.

“I kicked the ground, and with that distance you can’t kick the ground. I can probably make that kick eight or nine out of 10 times, so I’m disappointed in that,” McManus said. “When you’re that far, you just want to hit a good ball and give it a chance. From that distance, if you kick the ground you probably have a 5 percent chance to make it.”

Kubiak said after the game he made the decision to kick partly due to circumstances — there were no timeouts left and a punt did not guarantee they’d see the ball again.

However, Kubiak said he had confidence that McManus could make it, and after the game the kicker’s teammates echoed that.

“I wouldn’t just play for the tie, either. I’m 100-percent behind ‘Kube’ and the coaching staff,” linebacker Von Miller said after the game. “‘B-Mac’ is the man. It’s a tough position that he was in, but he can make those. If we had to do it all over again, I would do it again.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.