A fact easy to lose amid the celebration of a Saints win in Week 3: It really shouldn’t have have been that close.
The Saints had a pair of attempts at field goals that would’ve made the lead even more lopsided, but both kicks by Aldrick Rosas missed their mark. It’s a frustrating point of concern for a team with a normally rock-solid special teams group, but regular placekicker Wil Lutz is still out and recovering from core muscle surgery during the offseason.
The Saints tried out kickers multiple times, initially signing Brett Maher. He was released after the first preseason game with an injury designation. Rosas, formerly with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, was the next signing and has served as the kicker through three games and with minimal usage.
But don’t expect a new face out there on Sunday, with Lutz remaining on IR despite being eligible to return if healthy from this week on. It’ll be Rosas with a chance to kick against the team that drafted him.
“He’s going good,” Payton said, adding that the 26-year-old has “tremendous leg talent.”
Payton did question his own decision to send Rosas out there to kick it from 52 yards in Foxbourough and with winds blowing in from across the field. The kick never appeared to have a chance, skidding off Rosas’ foot and missing wide left. The Saints had gone for it in a similar situation a week earlier against the Panthers. Rosas had a miss later against the Patriots from 36 yards. He made his first attempt of the season in the Week 1 win over the Packers.
“It’s a tough place to kick,” Payton said.
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Rosas spent the first three seasons of his NFL career in New York, showing somewhat baffling highs and lows. After middling results as a rookie, Rosas converted 32 of 33 field goals in the 2018 season and went to the Pro Bowl. Since that season he's missed on 10 of his 31 attempts split between the Giants, Jaguars and Saints.
One reason to think he could bounce back: Sunday marks his first chance to kick indoors at the Caesars Superdome after three outdoor games in Jacksonville, Carolina and New England. The wind can't be the culprit this time around.