The early games in Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season may have been thrilling for fans watching, but they were brutal for some.
Kickers.
denver broncos kicker Will Lutz; atlanta falcons Kicker Koo Yong Hoe and san francisco 49ers Kicker Jake Moody, in particular, endured difficult days at the office. But at least one of them hit the game-winning kick, providing some relief as game time expired.
Let's start with New Orleans. There, the Saints faced the Falcons in an NFC South showdown. New Orleans, which had just fired its head coach, Dennis Allen, won 20-17.
Koo attempted four field goals in that game, but only made one. The first try of the afternoon came from 53 yards to go and went wide to the left.
Koo's second attempt, which came just before half-time, was thwarted.
Koo had a chance to redeem himself with a 46-yard try to tie the score at 20-20 midway through the fourth quarter.
Instead, his kick hit the right upright, his third miss of the afternoon.
Adding insult to injury? Not only was this the first time Koo had missed three field goals in one game, he also made 4 of 4 when the two teams met in September, and that game ended in the final. The Falcons won by a score of 26-24. .
on Koo's game-winning 58-yard field goal with less than a minute left.
The scene moved to Kansas City, where the Chiefs took on the Broncos in an AFC West showdown. It took something special at the end of the game for Kansas City to maintain an unblemished record, but the Chiefs managed to remain undefeated.
That special one was a blocked field goal.
Harrison Butker's field goal with less than six minutes left gave Kansas City a 16-14 lead, and Bo Nix and the Denver offense forced Lutz into field goal range. Lutz, who had missed earlier in the game, made a 35-yard field goal with one second left.
Leo Chenal had other ideas.
Chenal does his best to thwart the attempt and as time expires, Chiefs regain the loose football and pandemonium ensues.
Let's look at Chenal's block again.
Moody was the other kicker who endured a tough Sunday afternoon, but at least his story had something of a happy ending. Moody missed three of his first five field goal attempts on the day, and a miss early in the fourth quarter created a difficult scene on San Francisco's sideline, with wide receiver Deebo Samuel and long snapper Tabor Pepper spoke.
That kick would have given the 49ers a 23-17 lead. Instead, Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense tied the game at 20-20 with a field goal of their own with less than a minute left.
However, San Francisco managed to get within field goal range of Moody despite little time remaining thanks to big baskets from Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings. With just three seconds left, Moody came on the field and made his sixth field goal try of the game. It was a chance to grab the win from 44 yards to go.
It drifted to the right for a moment, but it went through the uprights and became the winning field goal.
And a little relief on a tough afternoon for Moody and kickers everywhere.
