Charlie Smyth looked completely at ease during his first real introduction to NFL action.

The Newry, Ireland native marked his preseason debut for the New Orleans Saints by kicking a dramatic winning field goal against the Arizona Cardinals.

With the tuneup game on the line, Smyth nailed a 37-yard field goal with eight seconds to go — his first kick of any significance in the sport — to clinch a 16-14 victory.

“I thought that was awesome,” New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen said after the game.

“First kick in, not an NFL game, a football game, in an American football game. For him to knock it through like that in a pressure situation, that was cool to see.”

It’s been quite the journey for the 22-year-old Mayobridge man Smyth.

The former Gaelic footballer, who played goalkeeper for Down GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association), grew up playing his national sport but always had one eye on the NFL.

In 2019, when he was 18, he sent an email to the NFL requesting a tryout, explaining why he thought he’d be a successful kicker.

He didn’t hear back but refused to give up on his dream of making it in pro football.

Smyth continued to practice his craft, and less than five years later he was selected by the NFL to participate in its International Player Pathway (IPP) program.

The IPP is a global initiative designed to unearth and develop potential NFL talent from countries outside the United States and Canada.

Former Wales rugby union star Louis Rees-Zammit is arguably the most famous example of someone coming through the IPP in recent years.

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‘LRZ’ quit rugby on the eve of the Six Nations earlier this year and was eventually signed by the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, making his preseason debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Jude McAtamney, another Irishman with a background in Gaelic football, kicked an extra-point in the New York Giants‘ pre-season win over the Detroit Lions last week.

Smyth began training in the IPP in January 2024, less than a year after kicking an American football for the first time.

He impressed from the get-go, making 12 of his 16 field goal attempts at the NFL scouting combine during the offseason. At his pro-day, he made 8 of 10 field goals, including one from 60 yards.

At the end of March, the Saints signed Smyth to their 90-man roster.

“Obviously being a fan of the NFL, you never really think that it’s actually possible to make that happen,” Smyth said. “I had goals in Gaelic football as well … but when the NFL came up, it was just like, ‘Whoa, this is way bigger.'”

He signed a three-year deal, although there’s no guarantee he will make the team or beat out current kicker Blake Grupe.

25-year-old Grupe is coming off his rookie season, where he went 30 from 37 on field goals and 40 from 40 on extra points last year.

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However, Smyth didn’t come this far to be content with a backup spot. He insists his goal is to make the 53-man roster and secure a starting spot, which could reportedly earn him around $800,000.

“I want the starting job. That’s why I’m here. I feel like this is a great opportunity to do that,” Smyth said.

“Blake Grupe is an unbelievable kicker of a football as well and it’s going to be very difficult, but … I don’t want to be one of those boys who comes from the IPP just to sit on the practice squad for three years … and earn a wee bit of money and then go back. That’s not why I’m here. I want to be here because I want to play.”

Grupe started as the kicker in the preseason contest against the Saints, making two field goals and a PAT.

Smyth replaced him late on, and with his first ever kick in an NFL game hit the 37-yard field goal to win the game.

“It was just an unbelievable feeling, honestly,” he told the New Orleans Saints podcast.

“I’m just so grateful to get the opportunity. And to think, from this time last year, if you’d have told me a year on you’d be making a game-winning field goal in an NFL game, I would have laughed at you.”

Saints quarterback Derek Carr said it’s a moment Smyth will never forget.

“I hope someone has the most awkward high-five I have ever received in my life [on camera],” he said. “I’m lucky I didn’t break my hand.

“He told us – I didn’t know this – a year ago he had never kicked a football. That’s something he’ll remember forever.”

New Orleans kick off the new NFL campaign against the Carolina Panthers on 8 September, but Smyth is focusing on one game at a time.

“On to the next one now,” he said.

“Making one kick in an NFL game isn’t going to win you a job. It is about trying to make the most of every opportunity you get and trying to be a 100pc kicker, that’s the aim.

“And I feel like from way back to now my percentages are getting higher and higher and I’m becoming more consistent and I showed that I can deal with the pressure with the game on the line so it’s about making the most of every opportunity.”