Zane Gonzalez made the biggest kick of his career on Sunday night, doinking in the boot that gave the Washington Commanders their first playoff victory since the 2005 season, but not before he went through his routine.
Gonzalez Sunday night after NBC cameras showed his extensive routine, which included fixing his sock and tapping his helmet. The kicker's personal procedure isn't due to any superstition or ritual but rather a product of Gonzalez's obsessive-compulsive disorder. He wasn't worried about how he looked ahead of making the big boot, but simply that he made it.
"If anything, it makes my wife and family more upset than it does with me," Gonzalez said, via . "I'm used to it. ... Everybody that's known or seen me kick has seen me do it millions of times. Being on such a big stage on Sunday night, a game-winner, it draws a little bit more attention, I've learned. It's who I am, and it's what I go through, and I, above everybody else, realize how crazy it looks doing it. I'm aware. But at the same time, you can't help it."
OCD can alter every aspect of a person's life, but Gonzalez has learned to live with the disorder.
"There's a few things I try to do to keep it as under-the-radar as I can, just understanding, get it done and whatever gets me mentally ready to go on the field, do that," Gonzalez said. "The helmet thing is literally the last thing I do."
A 2017 seventh-round pick by the Cleveland Browns, Gonzalez spent 18 games off the shores of Lake Erie before bouncing around the league. He spent three years in Arizona and one in Carolina. He hadn't kicked in an ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷Íøgame since 2021. The 29-year-old joined Washington in November, and while he missed time due to an injury, has been the main kicker since Week 10. He's gone 8 of 10 on field goals and 21 of 21 on PATs, including playoffs.
Sunday night represented the biggest kick in his career and ended a 19-year streak of playoff futility in D.C. The 37-yarder didn't come without added drama, as Gonzalez's boot clanged off the upright and through.
"I've banked a field goal before, but that was the biggest bank shot, I'd say, of my career," he said. "I really wish it would've just went in so I didn't hear the 'doink' stuff. … That one was just a little outside, but I felt pretty confident about it."
The confident kick sent the Commanders to Detroit for the Divisional Round. If Washington is to pull the upset on Saturday night, Gonzalez will likely play a key role yet again.
