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NEW ORLEANS – The Saints of New Orleans made 11 kicks in Sean Payton's first 11 years as head coach. But they finally found a goalkeeper after signing Wil Lutz in the first round of Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 of the 2016 season.
He scored history for them on Monday with a 58-yard winning goal, as the Saints' 30-28 win over the Houston Texans came to an end.
This has been not only a long career for Lutz, but also the longest placement in the last 10 seconds of an opening match of the season since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, according to ESPN's research Stats & Information.
"We all felt it would happen the minute we heard that ball drop his foot," said Srew quarterback Drew Brees. "It was a thunderous kick, and we all knew it was happening on the posts."
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This is not a hyperbole – well, not totally. The Saints were so confident in Lutz's leg that receiver Ted Ginn Jr. seemed to rejoice after catching a pass to the Texans 40-yard line two seconds from the end. He thought it was close enough for Lutz to win it.
"We all knew that," said Svin Alvin Kamara's running back. "We see him doing it in practice – if we put Wil in position, we know he can hit him."
Lutz missed a 56-yard attempt on the left before half-time on Monday. But he finished the 3-for-4 match on placement attempts. Last season, he made 28 of 30 before the Saints made him sign for one of the best NFL kicker offers (five years, $ 20.25 million).
The Saints are obviously more successful borrow a young Ravens kicker than the Minnesota Vikings (Minnesota traded a fifth-round pick in Baltimore against Kaare Vedvik kicker this summer, and then cut it weeks later). But that's partly because the Saints stuck with Georgia State's unprepared rookie, even though he had some early hesitation in 2016, including a failed 61-yard drive that would have earned his NFL debut.
Lutz spoke of the match on Monday when he was asked how proud he was of the confidence the saints gave him.
"You know, it's crazy.This brings back a memory, and the only reason I thought about it today is because Brad Seely is [the Texans’ special-teams] coach. He was the Oakland coach in my very first game, when I missed a goal of 61 yards. And coach [Payton] got up here and told me that he always trusted me, "said Lutz. And it gives me a little chills to think about that. And here we are three years later, so it's pretty wild. "
Like most kickers, Lutz talks all the time about trying to keep the same process for every kick. But he admitted Monday: "I must be honest, we felt a little different."
"Obviously, I'm confident in what I'm doing, I'm confident in my operation, I knew that in 37 seconds we would be able to get closer to the goal. situation, there is not a single shot I would refuse, "said Lutz. "You know, we're talking about the ups and downs of a game." The first half did not roll on my side and the goal of this game is to bounce back and allow your teammates to support you and kick in like that.
"It must be – it must be a top-one moment for me."
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