NFL kickers had made 233 straight field goals inside 28 yards when Carolina Panthers' Joey Slye lined up his attempt Sunday afternoon in New Orleans with two minutes left in a 31-31 game.
Slye slid the shot wide left. Streak over.
"I felt very confident," Slye said, via ESPN. "Obviously, it looked very stupid when I missed."
The 23-year-old undrafted kicker immediately appeared dumbfounded, squatting and grabbing his head as if he could wake from the nightmare.
A kick that should have been easy, became the Panthers' undoing. According to Next Gen Stats' field goal probability model, Slye's 28-yarder had a 93.5 percent chance of being made, the highest probability of any missed field goal this season.
"Obviously, that field goal should have put us over the top, and it didn't," Slye said. "The obvious statement is I feel the loss is on me. I'm going to take ownership of that."
Drew Brees got the ball back with 1:56 following the miss and drove the Saints down the field masterfully, setting up Wil Lutz's game-winning 33-yard field goal to give New Orleans the 34-31 victory.
Slye's missed 28-yarder came after the first-year kicker missed two extra points but made field goals from 52 and 41 yards.
Entering the game at 5-5, the Panthers' playoff hopes were on life support anyway in a competitive NFC. The loss to fall to 5-6 all but wipes out any chance at the postseason.
"I wanted to be a part of a great win here," Slye said. "I feel terrible. ... We're a 5-5 team trying to make the playoffs. We needed a win like this against a divisional opponent, and I have a huge hand in this loss, so I take it personally."
The 28-yard botch was Slye's seventh field goal miss this season on 26 attempts, and he's misfired on four out of 26 extra points.
The Panthers signed kicker Greg Joseph to their practice squad Monday, per Joseph's agent on Twitter. The second-year kicker made 17 of 20 field goals last year with the Browns. Carolina worked out a handful of kickers in the wake of Slye's struggles, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Joseph was drafted by the XFL's Seattle Dragons but did not sign.