Was there a competition raging in the Green Bay Packers’ locker room for the kicker position? Head coach Matt LaFleur had hinted as much in a presser on Thursday, November 6. But now, that open competition between placekickers has a definitive winner.

Brandon McManus and Lucas Havrisik were fighting for the placekicker spot in the Packers’ upcoming Week 10 battle with the Philadelphia Eagles. For LaFleur, it was about finding the player who “gives us the best opportunity to go out there and compete and win.” And now, that player will continue to be McManus.

McManus was the definition of accuracy last season, missing just one field goal out of 51 attempts. But his quad injury this year has made things a little difficult. In just 6 appearances so far, he has missed 5 field goals out of 16 attempts. Havrisik, on the other hand, has a perfect 100% field goal record against McManus’ 68.8%. That competition LaFleur talked about? It felt very real.

Still, McManus came out of it kicking better in practice, and cemented his spot in the Week 10 matchup. Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia had a clear winner in his find when speaking to the press on Friday, November 7. Although he noted it wasn’t a competition as LaFleur had suggested.

“I didn’t see it as a competition this week. I saw this as he’s getting healthier and had a pretty good week kicking the ball,” Bisaccia noted. “Why not have confidence in Brandon? People miss kicks. People miss tackles. People miss throws. People miss blocks. He missed a kick in the game.”

So, Bisaccia has complete faith in McManus’ legs for Week 10 and beyond. That has translated over to the head coach as well. But that’s just one problem solved. When going up against the Eagles, the biggest challenge won’t be to kick field goals. It would be to stop the defending champions’ short-yardage quarterback sneak: the tush push.

Matt LaFleur vs. the tush push, Week 10 edition

This isn’t the first time Matt LaFleur has gone up against the Eagles’ signature play. LaFleur was the cornerstone around which other coaches built their cases to have the play banned back in April. But they fell short of just two votes to outlaw it in the NFL Owners’ Spring League Meeting. Since that failed attempt, this will be the first time LaFleur will go up against this play.

The Eagles have made the tush push into the most successful short-yardage play over the years. Many around the league call it unstoppable, and it’s their go-to ace whenever Philly needs a down with just a few yards. LaFleur, having run some versions of the play himself in the past, knows how difficult it is to stop it. But he has a plan.

“The best way to stop it is to not allow it to happen,” LaFleur had noted on Thursday. “You can’t allow them in those short-yardage situations, because you know exactly what they’re going to do, and they’ve been pretty successful at it.”

LaFleur’s plan? Make sure the Packers’ defense doesn’t allow the Eagles’ offense to have opportunities to set up the play. It’s not going to be easy, but if you want to know exactly how LaFleur plans to stop it, he’s not sharing.

“We’ll always have a plan,” LaFleur said. “There are fundamentals and techniques that I’d rather not get into. We can have a conversation after the game.”

But will the Packers be able to stop the play, and improve to a 6-2-1 record in Week 10? If not, the Eagles soar to 7-2. For now, we can just wait for Monday Night Football to unfold.