I've watched this footage over and over again, and I am no closer to understanding what the intention of this play design was - it truly is a sight to behold. In a 7-7 4th quarter tie with less than 2 minutes to play, the Saints break the huddle and align in an exotic split alignment with the center (note - the Saints were using a longsnapper/specialist for punting, but not for field goals at this time) and 2 other linemen to the right and 5 linemen to the left and a back behind the left flank. Meanwhile, punter/holder Tom Blanchard and tragic protagonist of this weird play, Rich Szaro, are lined up behind the ball and to the left in a shockingly normal alignment for a right-footed kicker - which Szaro was not. Szaro was impressively ambidextrous for a naturally left-footed kicker, so given the chaos at the line, we'll call this normal. Then the Saints shifted into a truly vanilla field goal alignment. The architect of this play thought it'd be clever to show a right-footed attempt (for the shock value) then flip to Szaro's natural left-footed alignment. Being a kicker in the NFL is hard. Being an ambidextrous kicker at a professional level is an incredible feat that deserves to be commended. Being asked to invert your pre-play calculus in the span of about 6 seconds is an impossible ask that leads to a very predictable outcome.

We haven't been able to find video of this snow-plagued game from the end of the 1983 season, but the official game summary lists this 24 yard attempt in the final 2 minutes of the game as a missed doink. The miss wouldn't impact the final score, as the Saints wouldn't sniff the endzone (or the uprighht) all game.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the NFL moved the Saints' home opener to their opponent's stadium in East Rutherford. It was a game where the score felt secondary to the tragedy back in Louisiana. John Carney’s missed 29-yarder remains a quiet, somber footnote to a season where the Saints were a team without a home.

The Saints played their penultimate home game of 2005 in Tiger Stadium in the months after Hurricane Katrina. This doink here is a non-story, as even a "home" loss to their division rival Panthers feels unimportant.

These were different times for kickers, it seems. Poor Taylor Mehlhaff was cut twice by the Saints in 2008 - the first after training camp, the second after a fine performance in the 2008 NFL London game that saw Taylor doink an extra point off the upright in an otherwise clean game. There did not seem to be a disciplinary reason or injury at the heart of this decision, just this lone missed 20 yard PAT.

As the clock ticked down to the final minutes of the 4th quarter, both kickers in this game had a go ahead attempt. First, immediately after the 2 minute warning, Ryan Succop kicked a 55 yarder that doinked off the upright and left the Saints in good position to strike back. After a Brees-led 2 minute drill stalled out past midfield, Kai Forbath had an opportunity to win the game with a kick of his own. It did not go well.