It’s been a banner season for Los Angeles Rams K Greg Zuerlein.
He’s missed just one field goal on his 22 attempts including going 3/3 from 50+ yards and is a perfect 21/21 on extra points. So for his efforts last month, he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month. His monthly performance saw him go 14/15 on field goals including the his Week 4 showing against the Dallas Cowboys in which Zuerlein nailed all seven field goal attempts in the Rams’ 35-30 win.
It’s a long cry from his 2015 season and the subsequent offseason during which many Rams fans were calling for his departure. In 2015, GZ missed 10 field goals finishing with a paltry 66.66% overall. And unlike other seasons in which he was called on to kick ridiculously long field goals leading to a percentage deficit versus his peers, it was his four misses of kicks shorter than 50 yards (some in crucial situations) that frustrated most.
And honestly, the redemption for those misses lies ahead. The likelihood is that Zuerlein is going to have kicks forthcoming late in games that matter more than any football he’s played to this point in his NFL career. In what will be the first playoff push of his now six-year career, Legatron is going to be called upon in the most meaningful football he’s ever played, perhaps even to win games outright.
His performance in October at least reinforces that he’s earned the right to take those chances.
Congrats, GZ!