The early slate of games in Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season might have been thrilling for fans watching them, but they were brutal for one group of people.
Kickers.
Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz, Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo, and San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody in particular endured difficult days at the office. However, at least one of them delivered a game-winning kick, and some redemption as the game clock ran out.
We can start in New Orleans, where the Saints hosted the Falcons in an NFC South showdown. New Orleans, fresh off firing head coach Dennis Allen, pulled out a 20-17 win.
In that game, Koo converted just one of his four field goal attempts. His first try on the afternoon, from 53 yards out, was pulled wide to the left.
Koo’s second attempt, which came moments before halftime, was blocked:
Koo had a chance for redemption, as he lined up for a 46-yard attempt midway through the fourth quarter that would have tied the game at 20-20.
Instead, his kick clattered off the right upright, his third miss of the afternoon:
Adding insult to injury? Not only was this the first time that Koo had missed three field goal attempts in a single game, but Koo was 4-of-4 when these two teams met back in September, a game the Falcons won by a final score of 26-24.
On Koo’s game-winning 58-yard field goal with under a minute remaining.
We shift to Kansas City, where the Chiefs hosted the Broncos in an AFC West showdown. The Chiefs managed to remain unbeaten, although it took something special at the end of the game for Kansas City to keep their unblemished record.
That something special was a blocked field goal.
After a Harrison Butker field goal gave Kansas City a 16-14 lead with under six minutes remaining, Bo Nix and the Denver offense drove down into field goal range for Lutz. Lutz, who had missed earlier in the game, came on to convert a 35-yard field goal attempt with just one second remaining.
Leo Chenal had other ideas:
Chenal goes full extension to block the attempt, and the Chiefs recover the loose football as time runs out, and pandemonium ensues.
Here is another look at Chenal’s block:
The other kicker to endure a tough afternoon Sunday was Moody, but at least his story had something of a happy ending. Moody began the day missing three of his first five field goal attempts, and a miss earlier in the fourth quarter touched off a difficult scene on the San Francisco sideline, as wide receiver Deebo Samuel and long snapper Taybor Pepper exchanged some words:
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 under a minute remaining.
However, San Francisco managed to get into field goal range for Moody despite the lack of time remaining, thanks to big completions from Brock Purdy to Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings. With just three seconds remaining, Moody came on the field for his sixth field goal try of the game, a chance to win it from 44 yards out:
It drifted right for a moment but snuck through the upright for the game-winning field goal.
And a little redemption for Moody, and kickers everywhere, on a tough afternoon.
