“Kicker” provided an iconic moment for the 2025 New York Giants.
Naturally, it wasn’t good.
Koo attempted a 47-yard field goal in the second quarter Monday night in Foxborough, Massachusetts, giving the Giants a chance to pull within a point over the New England Patriots.
The ball broke.
Mr. Ku ran forward.
He brought his kicking leg back and then forward.
However, Gu’s foot did not reach the ball.
Instead, his toe slammed into the ground directly behind the pigskin, leaving holder Jamie Gillan to scramble with the ball. Gillan was tackled for a loss of 13 yards, and the Giants were left in a 10-point hole, losing 33-15.
After the sequence played, “Monday Night Football” showed the Giants quarterback on the sideline wide-eyed and appearing to say “Oh my God.” It’s been such a season for the Giants, who lost seven straight games and dropped to 2 wins and 11 losses.
Koo said after the game that despite how the whole sequence looked, his foot wasn’t actually stuck in the grass. Instead, the veteran kicker said he noticed the holding issue and made a split-second decision to take a break.
“As I was running towards the ball, the bottom of the ball fell out,” Koo said. “So I just pulled it up.”
Mr Khoo credited Mr Gillan with trying to save the ship’s hold.
“Jamie did a good job of catching it and putting it back together, but by that point it was too late,” Koo said.
Nevertheless, the failed play was mercilessly ridiculed. This fictional character repeatedly tried to kick a soccer ball and failed to even make contact, which became a running joke in the movie.
Koo intentionally made the mistake to help the Patriots cover the difference. It can be compared to the way the ground appears to get in the way of a golfer’s swing.
“Eli, that’s like a fat 9-iron you hit,” he told his brother during the game’s broadcast on ESPN2. “It’s all grass.”
Giants interim coach Mike Kafka agreed with Koo’s explanation.
“I saw it live,” Kafka told reporters after the game. “The ball seemed to slip a little bit. He wasn’t sure if it was going to set. Jamie tried to reset the ball, but by that time he was already losing it. So it was just tough out there.”
Koo played in four games as an undrafted rookie in 2017, eventually settling with the Atlanta Falcons and making the Pro Bowl in 2020. He was cut by Atlanta after two games this season and signed with the Giants a few days later.
