CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was a quick gesture, one most fans likely didn’t even clock as Browns first-year kicker Andre Szmyt nailed an improbable 55-yard, game-winning field goal against the Packers on Sunday.
Szmyt lined up with 2 seconds remaining at the Green Bay 37-yard line, the game tied at 10. And just before he raised his left hand to map out his kick, he took his right and made the sign of the cross.
Before each kick now, Szmyt gives that sign specifically for his mom, Lala Szmyt, who died unexpectedly on July 10 — just 10 days before her son reported to Browns training camp with dreams of making an NFL roster.
“You see me cross myself before I kick, and that kind of goes back to my process and staying level in my faith,” Szmyt told cleveland.com after the Browns’ improbable 13-10 win. “I know my talent is here, but I know God has a plan for everybody. And all of us. And for me.
“You can’t even draw up how that game — like, I still don’t even know what was just going on.”
In many ways, Szmyt is still trying to navigate his grief. It’s evident in a moment like this one. The kicker said he’s been going through the last 2 1/2 months in a dream state, through both the highs and the lows.
After Szmyt made the game-winner, the longest walk-off field goal in franchise history, Lala was the first person he wanted to call.
“It’s great to celebrate,” Szmyt said. “My dad’s here, my sister and that’s exciting. But I love my mom. She would be cooking for me already probably back at my apartment and stuff.”
Lala was also the first person Szmyt wanted to call after Week 1, when he missed a 36-yard field goal and an extra-point attempt against he Bengals, plays that had a significant impact in a 17-16 loss for Cleveland.
But even now as Szmyt talks through her sudden death due to an aneurysm, he’s honest that he hasn’t fully processed what’s happened.
It’s to be expected, considering the doctors who cared for her as she remained in a coma for four days were also shocked, given how healthy the 66-year old mom of three was.
“They all said, ‘We’ve never seen this before.’ It’s hard to like even take a second to be like, ‘What’s going on?’ ” he said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to until the season’s done, honestly. Because everything’s happening. The game-winner, this, that, a bad week, still like thinking about my mom and I’m grieving her. It’s like, how is this even real life? Because it’s so unexpected.”
It may be unexpected, but in many ways Szmyt, 26, has been able to steer through this uncharted territory due to all of the lessons he’s learned from his mother.
Lala was a “remarkable woman of intellect, conviction, and adventure,” according to her obituary. She spoke three languages, lived across the globe, and had a proud career as a chemist, contributing to innovations at several pharmaceutical companies.
But her main focus in life was her family.
That was evident in how she spent so much time with her son, as he fought to make his way onto an NFL roster after practice-squad stints with the Bears and Browns, and some time in the UFL over recent years.
When Szmyt was still a free agent, waiting for a call from an NFL team in heed, his parents’ house was his home base as he trained and stayed ready.
The two would hang out every day, with cooking and grocery shopping being regular activities.
“Me and her are like this,” he said, crossing his fingers. “I was like free-agenting it up, living at home, training and stuff, waiting for a call.
“Having to go back to football is obviously a lot. But I know her, God are giving me strength because I don’t know how else I’d be able to function.”
To feel close to her now, Szmyt has leaned into their Russian Orthodox faith to help the grieving process. During training camp, he was attending services on Sunday mornings.
1/101
Cleveland Browns vs. Green Bay Packers, September 21, 2025
It’s also helped to have his dad and two sisters, especially over recent weeks.
Szmyt’s dad, Eric, was married to Lala for 29 years, and has been at every Browns game this season.
His sister, Elisabeth, was at Sunday’s game as well, and last week, the whole family got together before the Browns played the Ravens, since his sister Julia lives in the Baltimore area.
With Szmyt in town, she cooked one of their mom’s favorite Russian dishes. It’s no coincidence, Szmyt says, that he bounced back and went on to make all of his kicks — two extra points and a field goal — in that Baltimore game last week.
“Even my sister says all these things happen, it’s like a sign,” Szmyt said. “Like I have a bad game in Week 1, but then we’re in Baltimore where I have family close by. I needed that little support, to have family dinner, all that stuff, and kind of bring me down to level.”
In Szmyt’s eyes, there have been signs from his mom throughout his improbable journey to becoming the Browns’ kicker — including the fact that he’s here and on the roster at all.
The Browns initially turned to Szmyt after parting ways with veteran Dustin Hopkins as they trimmed their roster to 53. But Szmyt, a former Lou Groza Award winner out of Syracuse, was initially brought in as a backup leg for the offseason, and someone who could provide Hopkins some competition after a career-worst 2024 season.
The team has been adamant that Szmyt’s entire body of work, going back to when he had a brief stint on their practice squad in December 2024, is what won him the job.
But his performance in the preseason finale against the Rams certainly didn’t hurt his cause, as he made a 37-yard game-winner.
“To have that drive where we have the game-winner going into the roster is finalizing,” Szmyt said. “Even (special teams coordinator) Bubba (Ventrone) said, ‘That was your mom, getting us down there in field goal range and hitting that field goal.’
“I know she’s with me and stuff. And it’s hard at times. When I was going through struggle a couple weeks ago, she was my number one person to talk to. So I didn’t have that.”
In talking about his mom now, Szmyt is very intentional.
He didn’t want the outside world to know what he was dealing with after missing those kicks against the Bengals.
He didn’t want anyone to think he was giving excuses.
He was waiting for a moment like Sunday against the Packers.
“This is the time where I would want to say it,” he said. “I don’t want to make it like it’s an excuse that I’m dealing with all this stuff after a bad game, but more I want to dedicate the good games and the game-winners to her. Even though they feel sweet, it’d feel even sweeter if she was here. She would be head over heels, so excited for me.”
But the Browns knew what Szmyt was dealing with when he returned for training camp, and now it gives the team satisfaction knowing they stuck with him through a rocky start.
“He’s been through a lot in his life, I would tell you,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game. “And the kid’s come through.”
His teammates have also stuck by his side, from veterans to rookies, all the way down the roster.
“What type of team would we be if we just went and started attacking somebody after a little bit of struggles?” said veteran defensive tackle Shelby Harris. “Dre, he did what he’s supposed to do. He went out there, he fixed it, and now no one’s talking about that. We won because he just hit that game-winner.”
Maybe no one has gotten to know Szmyt on the team as well as punter Corey Bojorquez, who described him as a player committed to his craft, someone who will be the first one in and last one out of the practice facility, no matter what he’s going through.
“He’s really good at what he does,” Bojorquez said. “He’s here for a reason and everyone here trusts him. He’s a really hard worker, does what he needs to to get the job done. And regardless of what the situation is, he just focuses on what he needs to do and performs when we need him to.”
Maybe no one summed up Sunday’s improbable victory, in which the Browns at one point looked like they would get shut out, and Szmyt’s finish, better than rookie edge rusher Adin Huntington.
“God’s gonna make everything happen at the right time,” he said. “We didn’t get the fumble. Then we blocked (a kick) and then Dre goes out there and makes the field goal.
“I mean, you can’t tell me that this isn’t destined or divine.”
In the case of Szmyt, maybe it’s both.
After that 55-yard kick went through the uprights, Szmyt was mobbed by his teammates, who carried him over to the Dawg Pound — a fitting finish as the Browns celebrated the 40th anniversary of their beloved section in this game too.
And as far as Szmyt is concerned, amidst all the hoopla, congrats, celebrations, and dog barks, there was also Lala.
“I want to do well this season for her,” Szmyt said. “She was my No. 1 fan. So I did it for my teammates and I did it for myself, obviously.
“But, a part of me is always going to do it for her. And I know she’s watching over me and she’s out there with me, helping me.”
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Source link
