While watching the Washington Commanders’ dramatic win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close out Wild Card weekend, you might have initially chuckled something in the broadcast’s fleeting moments.
The NBC cameras repeatedly zoomed in on Commanders’ kicker Zane Gonzalez as he fussed with his hair — about two dozen times — before lining up for the biggest kick of his life. The veteran placekicker eventually nailed a 37-yard, game-winning field goal, which doinked off the upright and sent Washington to the Divisional Round.
“THEY DOINKED THEIR WAY TO THE DIVISIONAL ROUND! UNBELIEVABLE!”
Mike Tirico on the NBC call as the Commanders kick a walk-off field goal to beat the Buccaneers. 🏈🎙️ #NFL #SNF pic.twitter.com/IjugFAh4CC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 13, 2025
Unbelievable moment, right?
But amid the celebration, his shining moment quickly overshadowed the narrative surrounding his pre-kick jitters. Still, there were a few moments that NBC honed in on Gonzalez, as Mike Tirico even quipped that it wasn’t the time for a “fashion malfunction,” framing the aforementioned meticulous adjustments as mere signs of nerves.
And yes, they are nerves, but they also reflect something deeper than a kicker having an unusual routine.
“Whatever he lined up in that head and that foot, [Commanders’ punter] Tress Way put it down — and Gonzalez doinked them to Detroit.”
For Zane Gonzalez, it doesn’t matter how you get ready…just as long as you’re ready. 😂 pic.twitter.com/oTkxuFQvSj
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 13, 2025
And to Tirico’s credit, at first glance, it seemed like a quirky, meme-worthy moment, poking fun at Gonzalez’s obsessive adjustments.
This has to be some sort of record for nervous hair fixing@PFTCommenter pic.twitter.com/PsXZG2b4gI
— tajin off the rim (@tommydoestwitta) January 13, 2025
LOOK AT ZANE GONZALEZ LMAOOO
No wonder he almost missed 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Cawl6OkwAN
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) January 13, 2025
Zane Gonzalez before kicking the game winning FG pic.twitter.com/E0Zf9rKYQa
— Jerry Jeudy Stan Account (@DDudeski_) January 13, 2025
Zane Gonzalez was stressing me out pic.twitter.com/RqkJUrTAox
— Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) January 13, 2025
Wild: Zane Gonzalez had to fix his hair about 6 times before he kicked the game-winning field goal.
Crazy OCD 😳pic.twitter.com/UetAmsoK2Y
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 13, 2025
But what that fails to highlight is why Gonzalez does what he does.
The 29-year-old kicker has openly discussed living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) since his days as a freshman at Arizona State. Those moments of fidgeting and adjusting aren’t a matter of superstition or vanity but are instead a reflection of how Gonzalez manages the condition that has shaped much of his adult life.
Zane Gonzalez has long struggled in his battle with OCD. Since he was a freshman at Arizona State, he has been public about coping with it.
Tonight, the world was introduced to his tick of him constantly fixing his hair… all that matters is the doink that sends the Commanders… pic.twitter.com/sdO7r890zi
— Kicks (@kicks) January 13, 2025
“It’s just little thoughts, little funny habits that I do,” he told the Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler about his ticks when he was with the Carolina Panthers (2021-22).
So, yes, Gonzalez knows it’s “funny.”
He’s very aware that his pre-kick ritual — which involves meticulous and repetitive actions and adjustments — can look odd or excessive.
But for him, it’s not about appearances.
What might have been dismissed as quirky or excessive in the moment on Sunday Night Football is, in fact, part of Gonzalez’s process — his way of channeling focus in high-pressure moments. And for Gonzalez, the kick wasn’t just about football. It was about overcoming a condition that makes every routine action a challenge.
A challenge his wife, Lizzy, addressed on her TikTok, where she defended her husband against those “making fun” of his “pre-kick OCD tick.”
@lizzyemm 👊🏽 commanders with the win #fyp #nfl #nflplayoffs ♬ original sound – Green Screen Memes
Now, the Commanders move on, and so does Gonzalez — with his hair perfectly in place, a game-winning kick to his name and a little less weight on his shoulders.