The New Orleans Saints are 40 days away from their first game of the season versus the Arizona Cardinals. We continue our countdown to kickoff with Garrett Hartley’s 40-yard field goal in the NFC Championship Game.
There have been longer kicks, but there is no more bigger kick in franchise history. This kick alone cemented Hartley’s place in franchisee history.
This s one of those moments Saints fans collectively held their breath and screamed simultaneously. It’s hands down one of the most exhilarating moments in Saints history.
Garrett Hartley’s clutch gene was on full display during the Saints Super Bowl season
Hartley’s kick didn’t become a big moment once it went through the uprights. This was a pivotal moment from the moment he stepped onto the field. It is remembered as the biggest kick in franchise history because he made it, but it just as easily could have been remembered as one of the biggest let downs in franchise history.
There is no way to undersell the importance of this kick or the pressure Hartley was under. This field goal was for the chance to send the New Orleans Saints to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. It was overtime, and if Hartley misses that kick the Vikings have the opportunity to steal back momentum. The Saints weren’t even supposed to be in this position, but Tracy Porter’s miraculous interception set the table for the Saints to push it into overtime.
Hartley drilled the kick and sent every Saints fan into a frenzy. What’s interesting about that is it was Hartley’s third game winning field goal of the season. Hartley missed the beginning of the season due to suspension and then was a healthy inactive until Week 12, when the Saints took on Washington. Hartley had to deliver a game winning kick in overtime during that game as well. The stakes weren’t as high, seeing that there wasn’t a Super Bowl berth on the line, but it was still a do-or-die moment.
Just a week later, Hartley scored the final points of the game against the Atlanta Falcons. This kick happened with a little under 5 minutes left, so it wasn’t as if the Saints couldn’t have gotten the ball back. It did, however, take the game from being tied at 23 to the final score of 26-23.
The only game winning kick Hartley missed was at the end of regulation against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That led to Tampa Bay winning the game in overtime. Hartley more than made up for himself by closing out the NFC Championship Game then going perfect in the Super Bowl.