Charlie Smyth's game-winner for Saints is 'dream scenario' for Northern Irish kicker

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Barely 27 months after he kicked an American football for the first time, Northern Ireland native Charlie Smyth drilled a game-winning field goal in the NFL.

His 47-yarder with 2 seconds left on Sunday gave the New Orleans Saints their first lead and handed the Carolina Panthers a 20-17 loss that was as excruciating for them as it was exhilarating for him.

“I was just delighted to get the opportunity,” said Smyth, who was serenaded with chants of “Charlie, Charlie” in the locker room after receiving a game ball from coach Kellen Moore. “It was a good moment and one I’ll never forget. I’m pretty ecstatic right now, to be honest.”

The 24-year-old Smyth graduated college as a primary school teacher in the summer of 2023, with his only kicking experience coming in Gaelic football as a goalkeeper. He signed up for a master’s program in Belfast, but ended up pursuing the NFL instead, joining the league’s International Player Pathway Program.

“If you told me I’d be kicking in a game in the NFL, I probably would have laughed at you,” he said. “Just the way things panned out, it’s been really a dream scenario.”

During the 2024 preseason, Smyth hit a 37-yard field goal with 5 seconds left to beat Arizona and ended up on the practice squad. After the Saints cut Blake Grupe three weeks ago, Smyth was promoted to the active roster for the first time in Week 13 at Miami, where he made a 56-yard field goal in his first attempt.

That one came in a loss. His latest kick gave the Saints their second consecutive win after they started 2-10.

“The outside world would say there’s a lot of pressure on you, but I’d like to say I embrace those moments,” Smyth said. “It’s just up to you to go out and execute everything you’ve been practicing the last two years.”

His teammates felt his confidence.

“We had no doubt,” said rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who guided the Saints 62 yards to set up Smyth’s kick. “He does that every single day in practice. You’ve got to have a level of cold-bloodedness to play that position. I think everybody knew what the result was going to be.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

New Orleans Saints placekicker Charlie Smyth (39) kicks a field goal in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)

New Orleans Saints placekicker Charlie Smyth (39) runs off the field after an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

New Orleans Saints place-kicker Charlie Smyth (39) and teammates celebrate after field goal in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)

New Orleans Saints placekicker Charlie Smyth (39) kicks a field goal to win the game in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

U.S. skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender is pressing forward in her fight for a sixth Olympic berth, saying Saturday that she is appealing a decision by international officials that seemed to cost her a chance to compete at the Milan Cortina Games.

Uhlaender said she is asking the International Olympic Committee for a wild-card berth into the Olympic women's skeleton field, which currently has the maximum of 25 sliders — including two from the U.S.

Uhlaender said she has made the ask with the backing of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which confirmed that it has asked that Uhlaender receive a discretionary spot in the field.

“Had this race not been manipulated, I would be preparing to represent the United States of America and make history as the first woman to compete in six Olympic Winter Games for our country,” Uhlaender said in a statement Saturday, a copy of which was sent to The Associated Press. “Instead, I am now focused on legally challenging what I believe to be a fundamentally flawed investigation and decision by the IBSF in a final attempt to earn my place at what would be my sixth and last Olympic Games.”

At issue for Uhlaender: A North American Cup race earlier this month where Canada had four of its sliders withdraw, and that decision lowered the number of available standings points available. If the Canadian sliders competed, Uhlaender likely would have gone on to make the U.S. Olympic team.

The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation looked into Canada's decision and found no rules were broken. Uhlaender ultimately could take her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Documents reviewed by AP show that some other countries are speaking up on Uhlaender's behalf as well.

The NAC series is a tier below the World Cup level and tends to be a place for developmental athletes to compete. Uhlaender competed in seven races this season on the NAC and Asian Cup — another lower-tier — circuits in an effort to collect enough points to make the Olympic team after failing to make this season’s U.S. World Cup roster.

Kelly Curtis and Mystique Ro competed on World Cup this season for the U.S. and secured Olympic spots. Uhlaender has said repeatedly that she is not looking to thwart the Olympic dream for Curtis, Ro or any other athlete.

She said Saturday that she's only looking for the IOC to be fair.

“Doing so would protect the integrity of competition and prevent further harm,” Uhlaender said. “Such action would send a powerful message to young athletes everywhere: that standing up for ethics and integrity may be difficult, but it matters.”

Uhlaender won the women’s skeleton world championship in 2012, medaled in that event at the worlds two other times and finished a controversial fourth at the 2014 Sochi Olympics — with many still believing she should have been awarded the bronze medal. Russian slider Elena Nikitina won the bronze at that event, then had the medal stripped three years later because of a state-sponsored doping scandal only to have her finish eventually restored following appeal.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

FILE - Katie Uhlaender, of the United States, slides during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)