Packers-Raiders Will Feature Anders Carlson vs. Daniel Carlson
GREEN BAY, Wis. – In Monday’s big brother vs. brother kicking battle, Green Bay Packers rookie Anders Carlson and Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro Daniel Carlson are separated by four years.
From sports to games, they competed in just about everything as kids.
“I don’t think ‘friendly’ but we had competitions,” Anders Carlson said on Thursday. “We had a basketball court outside of our house. I was the better basketball player; he was the more physical guy, though – he had the height – so those were even matches. My dad’s a tennis coach so a lot of tennis matches, playing soccer. Whatever it was, we were always competing.”
As the younger brother, Anders was always driven by the desire to follow in Daniel’s footsteps and to be as good as his more accomplished brother.
“Sometimes I’m too competitive with my wife and stuff like that,” Anders said. “Obviously, with him, it was great because I wasn’t a great loser, I’m just going to be honest. So, when I did lose, I’d be so mad that I’d want to get better. No matter what it was – we’d play board games and I’d get mad and just want to get better.
“I think that competitive nature that’s inside me, yeah, it’s a lot from my dad and my mom but more so just competing with my brothers. It’s not just Daniel (that) I competed against. [Oldest brother] Nils and Daniel and me all competed. I think that’s what made us really close but also just a little fiery, a little pissed off sometimes.”
There will be 27 members of the Carlson family at Allegiant Stadium on Monday for the first official Carlson vs. Carlson battle. That includes their parents, their wives and Nils.
“He found [the tickets] but I’m definitely breaking the bank a little bit,” Anders said.
The Carlsons got their start in kicking through someone at their church. The high school team needed a kicker. Nils, a soccer goalie, was in Sweden. Plan B was Daniel, who demonstrated his renowned leg strength – he set an NFL record with 11 field goals from 50-plus yards last year – during a tryout.
From there, Anders followed in his brother’s footsteps. He gave up soccer for football as a high school sophomore. Ultimately, he chose to play his college football alongside his brother at Auburn. In 2017, Anders redshirted while Daniel capped a strong career in which he set an SEC career scoring record and made all 198 extra-point attempts.
Packers rookie Anders Carlson is 5-for-5 on field goals and 9-for-9 on extra points.
Photo by Mark Hoffman/USA Today Sports Images
With a superb college track record, Daniel was a fifth-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2018. His stint with the Vikings lasted just two games as he missed three field goals in a 29-29 tie against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
“It was definitely tough, but I think that’s what has made him such a great kicker,” Anders said. “He’s learned how to battle through difficult times, if he ever does, and he’s had some great seasons in the past few years. He’s been through that so now he can trust what he’s doing and trust the journey he’s on.”
Daniel latched on with the Raiders, whose special teams were coordinated by Rich Bisaccia, and he blossomed into one of the best in the NFL. He’s topped 90 percent accuracy each of the last three seasons. Last year, he unseated Ravens star Justin Tucker – probably the best kicker in NFL history – as the All-Pro kicker.
Daniel has made every kick this season. So has Anders, a sixth-round pick who survived some struggles in training camp to capably replace Mason Crosby.
“I think the thing that’s been good for Anders is some of the difficulties that Daniel has had, Anders has had the opportunity to learn from,” Bisaccia, in his second season as Green Bay’s coordinator, said this week. “I think that’s the one thing probably that he’s taken from his brother. But I think the guiding force to those two is the dad. Dad’s an ultracompetitive tennis guy and I think he’s really been a force for both of those guys.”
Before Monday’s game, they’ll say hi to each other before going through their pregame routines. After those warmups, they’ll find a few minutes to talk in and soak in the moment.
Of course, each of the brothers wants his team to win the game. Helping their cause would be their brother missing a field goal or two.
Brotherly love will replace sibling rivalry.
“I hope he makes every kick. I just hope we win by a lot of touchdowns,” Anders said.
As Daniel told reporters in Las Vegas, “At the end of the day, each of us is just trying to help our team get points. It's not necessarily a head-on-head competition or anything. But, much like when we kick in the offseason against each other, each of us wants to have a better day. Hopefully, I go perfect and he goes perfect and, hopefully, I just have a lot more extra points and maybe he has a couple of field goals if anything.”
But what about if it’s a one-point game in the fourth quarter?
“You don’t want him to try to hit the game-winner because then it’s a tough spot,” Anders said. “Truthfully, I don’t ever want a kicker to miss. You work so hard at the craft. You understand and respect his craft. Yeah, definitely this one, you want him to make them all for sure.”
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