Shortly after he missed his fifth field goal of the season, Zane Gonzalez retreated to the sidelines and had a brief chat with coach Hue Jackson.
It was exactly what Gonzalez needed to hear.
"It was awesome," Gonzalez said Wednesday. "He just came up to me and said, 'Hey I have confidence in you.' He knows I am here. He knows I can do it. That was huge for me."
Gonzalez followed the miss, which came from 43 yards, with a short field goal to end the first half and a 39-yarder midway through the third quarter to finish 3-of-4 on a busy day that also included his first career punt.
With points at a premium for Cleveland's young offense, Gonzalez's ups and downs throughout his rookie season have been magnified. He sits at 11-of-16 on field goal attempts and 17-of-18 on extra points heading into Cleveland's matchup Sunday with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Asked Monday if the Browns were evaluating alternative options at kicker, Jackson reaffirmed his confidence in Gonzalez, the former seventh-round pick who came to Cleveland as one of the most decorated kickers in college football history.
"Is it unsettling to have that happen? Yes, it is, but at the same time, he did respond," Jackson said. "We are going to look at all of it here this week, and if we make a decision as an organization we need to look someplace else, then we will, but I thought after that, he settled down and made the kicks that he needed to make."
Gonzalez said that kind of confidence meant "a lot" to him and helped him bounce back in the fashion he did. This isn't normal for Gonzalez, who was 23-of-25 as a senior at Arizona State, a total that included a record-setting 59-yarder.
Gonzalez knows he has it in him, and he's been given the time to work it out.
"It shows the faith that they have in me," Gonzalez said. "This organization as a whole, they have done nothing but support, which is awesome. The fact that they were able to stick with me and have not brought anyone in to work out and all that just shows a lot of confidence."
