'I was absolutely buzzing' - Smyth on NFL debut

New Orleans Saints' kicker Charlie Smyth admitted he was "absolutely buzzing" at making his NFL debut in Sunday's 21-17 defeat to the Miami Dolphins.

The 24-year-old kicked a 56-yard field goal to register his first points in the NFL with his first field kick attempt in the fourth quarter at the Hard Rock Stadium.

The former Down GAA goalkeeper also managed an onside kick in front of his family who made the trip to Florida at short notice.

"I found out [he was playing] on Friday," Smyth said after the game.

"I think if we had to wait three or four more hours, I don't think it would have been possible [his family making the trip to watch him]. I think they travelled for 23 hours because they flew to Chicago and the flight got delayed because of snow and then they flew down into Miami.

"It was awesome to see them."

Smyth was elevated to the Saints' starting roster after they cut Blake Grupe last week after missing a pair of field goals in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Mayobridge native had previously featured in pre-season for the Saints, kicking two field goals in a 17-17 tie against the Jacksonville Jaguars in August, and admitted that he was not sure if he would get a chance to kick for points - given the nature of the game.

"I suppose you're kind of waiting all game and then the way the game was going, we needed two two-point conversions if we scored a touchdown, so we were curious if the opportunity was going to come up," Smyth explained.

"Ultimately, you just have to stay ready and then they kicked a field goal to up 11 so we knew that we might have needed one at some stage."

'Phenomenal' - Saints coach Moore on Smyth kick

After waiving Grupe ahead of the Dolphins game, the Saints did add veteran kicker Cade York to their practice squad.

But Smyth, a product of the NFL's international player pathway programme, was the kicker selected for duty and impressed head coach Kellen Moore with his debut performance.

"Charlie, I thought, kicked really well. Big-time field goal. The onside kick obviously was really well-kicked. Phenomenal kick there and put us in a position to have a chance at the end," Moore said after the defeat.

Smyth signed his first contract with the Saints in March 2024 and has had to bide his time over the last 18 months for his first chance in a regular season game.

"Charlie's earned this opportunity. We have a lot of confidence in him. He's worked at this thing for a number of years now.

"He's prepared himself really well. We have a lot of confidence in him. He obviously has the leg to make some big-time kicks.

"That was a challenging situation, but it was a situation we needed to get some points there and he drilled it, and it was a phenomenal kick by him."

Smyth is hoping this is the start of something special in New Orleans.

"It took a long time and it obviously means 'I feel ready, I feel ready.' But the coaches, they know what they're doing. They're really, really good.

"Obviously we didn't envision it being like this because Blake (Grupe) has been so good and I have learned so much from him. Tuesday was strange emotions because you saw your opportunity potentially coming up but then seeing him out was tough because we're friends.

"At the end of the day, you get your head right and I was buzzing and then on Thursday, it was kind of a big day and I kicked really well. I was just excited to get the opportunity and to be honest, I'm kind of hiding it a little bit, I was absolutely buzzing."

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