Ryan Fitzgerald
K #3 — Carolina Panthers
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About Ryan Fitzgerald
Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Dallas Cowboys in 2025, and Charlotte lost its mind. That's the whole origin story. One kick, one moment, and a city decided that this former FSU kicker was now a permanent part of its folklore. The fact that it was the Cowboys made it better. The fact that it was a walk-off made it perfect. Ryan Fitzgerald went from "who's the new kicker" to folk hero in the time it took a football to travel 33 yards through the uprights.
Before that kick, Fitzgerald was a relatively anonymous special teams player doing anonymous special teams things. Making extra points. Handling kickoffs. Being the guy whose name you only learn when he misses. Then he didn't miss, at the exact right moment, against the exact right opponent, and now he's the kicker who beat Dallas. In Charlotte, that's a sentence that buys you free drinks for life. Fitzgerald didn't ask to become a legend. He just put his foot through a ball and the city did the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened with Ryan Fitzgerald's game-winning kick against the Cowboys?
Panthers-Cowboys, 2025. Time expiring. Fitzgerald lined up from 33 yards, which is not a long field goal by NFL standards, but distance doesn't matter when the clock shows zeros and the game is on your foot. He hit it clean. Panthers win. The stadium went berserk. The clip went viral. A kicker became the most popular man in Charlotte for a week, which is not a sentence that gets written very often.
Why did one kick make Fitzgerald so popular?
It was the Cowboys. Beating Dallas in any fashion generates enthusiasm, but beating them on a walk-off field goal creates a story that fans retell at bars for years. Fitzgerald also had the underdog factor working for him. Nobody expected the kicker to be the hero. Kickers are supposed to be invisible. When one of them wins the game in the most dramatic way possible, the reaction is disproportionately big because people love an unlikely star.
Last updated: April 2026