Green Bay Packers tight end Josiah Deguara made a critical error while in protection on a blocked extra point during Sunday’s 23-19 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Deguara, lined up as the widest protection player to the left of the field goal protection group, allowed Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson to get around the corner and block the extra point following Jayden Reed’s 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
“We gotta get our eyes on our work and make sure that we punch the near shoulder of the widest rusher,” coach Matt LaFleur said Monday.
Deguara hesitated and didn’t get nearly enough of Peterson, who flew past mostly unaffected. With no player threatening inside his right shoulder, Deguara’s job is to make sure the outside rusher is forced wide and away from the kick.
LaFleur described the mistake as a “major miscue” in a game filled with missed opportunities.
The block kept the game at 17-13, and the lost point in the first half ended up being huge in the fourth quarter as the Packers drove the field and were in field goal range on the final drive. Instead of attempting a game-tying field goal, the Packers had to go for a touchdown from the 16-yard line, and Jordan Love was intercepted as time expired. The Steelers had seven players lined up in coverage defending the end zone.
Deguara, now in his fourth year, has played 24 snaps on field goal protection this season and 61 in his career.
Here’s the blocked extra point:
Extra point is blocked by @P2‼️
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/T87FSnfvVk pic.twitter.com/8t9mVQBjeN
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 12, 2023
