By Tori Wittenbrock
Associate Sports Editor
GREEN BAY – On Monday, Oct. 9, the Green Bay Packers head west to face the Las Vegas Raiders in what will be one of the biggest special teams competitions of the season.
Green Bay Packers Placekicker Anders Carlson will face off against his older brother, Daniel Carlson, who currently serves as the placekicker for the Raiders.
Role model
After following him up from kicking at Auburn University, to the NFL, Anders said that there are absolutely quite a few techniques he has learned from his brother.
“When I started my career in high school, I think everything (I learned) was me on a phone call to him in college and him sending me videos, all the way even until now. We’ll go back and forth and if he doesn’t have a good week he’ll text me, and it’s kind of cool now that we are in that state where he trusts me and what I’m going to say, as well,” said Anders.
Daniel graduated from Auburn University in 2018 as the SEC’s all-time leading scorer before being drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He was later released and picked up by the Raiders after missing a regulation-time field goal and two overtime field goals in a game against the Packers.
However, Daniel is a testament to how one game does not define your career. He is currently the third most accurate placekicker in the NFL.
Anders followed his brother’s lead, graduating from Auburn in 2020 and being picked up by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The big game
Anders also said that while he knows it is just another game for his teammates, the competition between himself and his brother has raised the stakes on a personal level, but he intends to stay focused on the task at hand.
“I think I’m just treating it like any other game and just keeping the ball rolling with everything we’ve got going here, special teams-wise,” said Anders. “You know, it is a special game for me with Vegas and my brother and everything, so it will be an emotional ride I think — it will be fun. I’ll get teary-eyed, maybe. We’ll see.”
After a devastating loss to the Detroit Lions at home, Anders said that he is working hard to mentally prepare himself for their next game.
Although his team did not come away with a win against the Lions, Anders said that he was proud of the work his team did on special teams to put the first and final point on the board for the night.
“It felt good. I mean for me, it’s all about just doing my job and keeping the guys in it. It’s obviously not the results we wanted. There’s things I could improve on, so I’m going to go back and focus on those, but I liked the field goals and I liked what we did there, so I guess that is a bright spot,” said Anders.
Rich Bisaccia, Packers special teams coordinator, has experience with both Anders and his older brother Daniel.
Bisaccia served as assistant head coach, interim head coach and special teams coordinator with the Raiders from 2018-2021, overseeing Daniel’s potential in the NFL before moving to Green Bay in 2022 to then work with Anders.
After kicking the game winning field goal against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 24, Bisaccia said he was proud of Anders for securing the victory for his team and for making one of the biggest kicks early on in his career.
“We’d like to say that we treat them all the same, but obviously that was a big kick,” said Bisaccia. “I think if you look back over many years ago, his brother came in here and he didn’t make that big kick here in Green Bay, so credit to [Anders] being in that situation and playing the way he did.”
The Carlson clan
Despite the bragging rights that are on the line for the Carlson family, Anders said that his mom is thrilled about the matchup and excited to see both of her sons competing and doing what they love.
“She’s crazy,” joked Anders. “She’s got some nerves every game and she’s been in it a while but she loves it. She’s energetic and she’s a lot of fun. She’ll be there, and we’ll have a whole section of Carlsons, so it will be a lot of fun.”
A competitive relationship with his brother will make for an interesting matchup according to Anders.
“We are very competitive. We’ll see, maybe, who can hit the longer field goal of the day. We are just both super excited. My brother from Sweden is going to come, too, so we’ll have the whole squad there and it will be a lot of fun,” said Carlson.