Written by Lorenzo Reyes at USAToday.com
As Roberto Aguayo rehearsed his motion, blasting kick after kick into a practice net, hisTampa Bay Buccaneers teammates didn’t know what to do.
Some kept their distance, whispered to each other and stared. A few offered a quick pep talk or a slap on the helmet.
Quarterback Jameis Winston told Aguayo: “Be ready.”
In the end, it would come down to the often-unreliable right foot of the rookie kicker.
But after doinking a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter and hooking a 46-yarder wide left in the fourth, Aguayo connected on a 38-yard boot as time expired Monday night, providing the winning margin in a 17-14 victory over the reigning NFC championCarolina Panthers.
“Not the game I wanted to have,” Aguayo said afterward, “but at the end of the day, we made the one that counted and got the W.”
The kick kept Tampa Bay’s (2-3) season afloat while dealing a potentially mortal blow to Carolina (1-4).
But Aguayo’s misses are a big concern for the Bucs, who traded two picks to get him in the second round of this spring’s draft.
Twitter dubbed him “Aguay-No,” “Ag-wide-o,” and “Ughuayo” even though a 3-for-5 evening raised his field-goal conversion rate to 50% on the season. He’s also misfired on an extra point.
That’s why after Aguayo’s fourth-quarter miss with 3:38 left to play and the score tied, coach Dirk Koetter wanted to drive the ball as close as possible when the Bucs got the ball back with 1:49 to go.
“I wasn’t comfortable,” Koetter said. “We couldn’t have gotten close enough.”
