Saints 2019 Year in Review: Wil Lutz

Maybe not since the days of John Carney’s first stint with the Saints have New Orleans fans been able to feel as confident in the quality of their place kicker as they do with Wil Lutz. By all accounts, Lutz had the best year of his four-year career, signing a five-year contract extension before the season and making his first Pro Bowl during the year. Lutz also set a career long mark with a 58-yard field goal that he drilled to beat the Houston Texans way back in Week 1.

Wil Lutz - At a Glance

• Approximate Value: 5 (tied for career high)

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

While Lutz had a great season with relative hiccups, he did have what ended up being a costly missed field goal in the post season against the Minnesota Vikings. It ultimately was not what determined the game, but it was still a shock to see Lutz miss the kick, and ultimately leave the points on the board. It’s actually back-to-back playoff misses for Lutz, after he missed a makeable field goal in the Saints loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game last year. Hopefully this isn’t a recurring trend for the 25-year-old.

As you might know by now, I try to include at least one highlight of two of the player I’m reviewing at this stage in the article. With all of Lutz’s game-sealing or game-winning kicks, I’m instead choosing to focus on my favorite moment from Lutz’s 2019:

Here’s to 2020 from Wil (with one “L”) Lutz.