diff --git a/drivers/misc/sgi-xp/xpnet.c b/drivers/misc/sgi-xp/xpnet.c
index ee5109a3cd98..42f067347bc7 100644
--- a/drivers/misc/sgi-xp/xpnet.c
+++ b/drivers/misc/sgi-xp/xpnet.c
@@ -495,14 +495,14 @@ xpnet_dev_hard_start_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb, struct net_device *dev)
 		}
 	}
 
+	dev->stats.tx_packets++;
+	dev->stats.tx_bytes += skb->len;
+
 	if (atomic_dec_return(&queued_msg->use_count) == 0) {
 		dev_kfree_skb(skb);
 		kfree(queued_msg);
 	}
 
-	dev->stats.tx_packets++;
-	dev->stats.tx_bytes += skb->len;
-
 	return NETDEV_TX_OK;
 }