Grupe went 1-for-1 on field-goal attempts and converted his lone PAT in Sunday's 16-10 preseason loss to the 49ers. Grupe hit a 52-yarder early in the third quarter, and he now gone 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 on point-after-tries this preseason. The second-year kicker also went back to handling almost the entirety of the Saints' kicking duties after first-year player Charlie Smyth hit the game-winning field-goal attempt in the team's preseason opener. While the latter kicker handled New Orleans' first kickoff of the second quarter, his scant usage seems to indicate that there isn't a legitimate kicking competiton going on here this preseason. The Saints will wrap up their preseason schedule this coming Sunday with a final exhibition against the Titans.
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Grupe went 1-for-1 on field-goal attempts and converted his lone PAT in Sunday's 16-10 preseason loss to the 49ers. Grupe hit a 52-yarder early in the third quarter, and he now gone 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 on point-after-tries this preseason. The second-year kicker also went back to handling almost the entirety of the Saints' kicking duties after first-year player Charlie Smyth hit the game-winning field-goal attempt in the team's preseason opener. While the latter kicker handled New Orleans' first kickoff of the second quarter, his scant usage seems to indicate that there isn't a legitimate kicking competiton going on here this preseason. The Saints will wrap up their preseason schedule this coming Sunday with a final exhibition against the Titans.
Grupe logged a career-high six field-goal attempts in this injury-ridden outing for New Orleans' offense. With this unit unable to come through with touchdowns while in opposing territory, the team relied on its undrafted rookie kicker to hang in the game. Grupe's was perfect on his first five field-goal tries, which ranged from 25 to 52 yards. But, he came up short on a 54-yard attempt with just under 30 seconds remaining, thus ending his team's slim chances for a comeback win. Grupe has now hit 24 of the first 30 field-goal tries of his career, and all six of his misses have come on attempts of 40 or more yards.
Grupe hit the left upright on a 47-yard field goal attempt while the Saints were up 24-17 late in the fourth quarter. However, this miss didn't ultimately cost New Orleans, as the team recovered a strip-sack on the subsequent drive for the Bears, thus icing the game. Grupe also made his other four combined kicking attempts leading up to the late-game miss, and he's now converted 18 of his 23 field-goal tries and all 19 of his PATs this season. He'll look to avoid any more mistakes when the Saints head to Minnesota next Sunday, Nov. 12.