15 August 2023 , 19:56
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New Orleans Saints rookie kicker Blake Grupe was mistaken for a fan after scoring a 31-yard game-winning field goal at the death of Sunday's 26-24 preseason win over Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, he was quickly brought back down to Earth, with the 24-year-old undrafted star being stopped at the Superdome after trying to leave via the player's exit. It wasn't the first time that Grupe's credentials were called into question either, with the kicker being quizzed as to why he was on the sidelines by security.
Grupe has described his security mare at the Superdome as humbling. "Step 1: get questioned walking onto the field pregame for not having credentials," he said on Twitter. "Step 2: Hit a game-winner. Step 3:Get stopped by security thinking I was a fan when trying to walk out the player exit Stay humble. Thankful. Great team win!"
The Saints' starting kicker spot is up for grabs and Grupe is competing with Wil Lutz but the former was showered with praise by coach Dennis Allen for staying calm under the pressure with his decisive kick. "Glad we got the win because this league is all about winning and winning in the preseason is important," Allen said.
"I was glad that our guys were able to do that. I was glad to see Grupe get a chance to get to kick in that situation and be able to knock it through."
Joe Burrow backs Patrick Mahomes after Kansas City Chiefs reach Super Bowl
Sunday's loss left Kansas City's franchise quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, unimpressed. Mahomes has slammed his team for their lack of energy and has called on the Chiefs to treat preseason like it's the regular season if they are to win a third Super Bowl in the last four years in 2023/24.
Grupe scored a game-winning kick in the Saints' preseason win over the Super Bowl champions (Getty)“Even though it’s a preseason game, you have to have that same energy you have in the regular season,” Mahomes said. “I think you saw that we came out, and they had more energy than we did.”
Mahomes added: "I think it’s important because we’re going to have that target on our back all year. Everybody’s going to play their best football against us. If they haven’t the last few years, I want these guys to understand that.
"If we’re not playing our best football from the get-go, we can get in those deficits. I know it’s a mixture of the 1s and 2s today, but when you get down 14-0, it’s hard to win in this league."