The end of the 2020 season was a sour one for the Green Bay Packers as they came up shy of making the Super Bowl with a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship game.
It was a particularly sour end to the year for cornerback Kevin King, who had a couple pivotal plays in the game coming at his expense that ultimately helped turn the tide in the Buccaneers favor.
But after re-signing with the Packers this offseason, King is looking to duck the way his season ended. Instead, it’s an experience he intends to use to push himself forward this year.
“Get over it? Things like that, I don’t know if you ever necessarily get over,” King said, via the Associated Press. “But it’s a learning experience. You listen to all these guys who have the greatest success stories, they’ve all used those quote-unquote ‘failures’ as turning points. I’ve challenged myself all offseason and continue to challenge myself to come out better from that situation so quote-unquote ‘failure,’ that’s just a word.”
King saw Scotty Miller run straight by him for a 39-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half that allowed Tampa Bay to take a 21-10 lead into the break. Then on a third-and-4 inside the final two minutes, King was flagged for holding on wide receiver Tyler Johnson that gave the Buccaneers a first down that allowed them to run out the rest of the clock and secure the victory.
King could have looked for a fresh start elsewhere after four seasons with the Packers. Instead, he’s back in Green Bay looking to help get the Packers over the hump and back to the Super Bowl.
“I’m not the type of guy that just tries to sweep (stuff) under the rug,” King said. “I want to finish this with my guys, the guys who’ve believed in me and the guys who continue to believe in me. I’m going to do my part to uphold my side of the bargain, but ... we’re here to win a Super Bowl. I just want to do my 1/11th on defense, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
