The Washington Football Team moved on from longtime kicker Dustin Hopkins in favor of Chris Blewitt. Washington tried to make sure its new kicker didn't live up to the name, but the results haven't been promising.
Blewett has attempted five field goals in the two games he's been Washington's kicker, yet has missed three of them -- all of which were blocked. Blewitt went 1-for-2 in a Week 7 loss to the Green Bay Packers, having a 42-yard kick blocked while making a 45-yard attempt.
"It's something a first-year guy, a rookie, basically, he'll get better at giving that ball some elevation," Washington head coach Ron Rivera said after the Week 7 loss. "At the same time, there may have been a little bit of penetration. He [Packers defensive lineman T.J. Slaton] did get his hands up. We really haven't had the chance to look at that, so that's speculation on my part."
The second game Blewitt kicked wasn't any better. A low kick from Blewitt resulted in a block after it hit an offensive lineman, one of two kicks blocked in a 17-10 loss to the Denver Broncos Sunday. Blewitt finished 1 of 3 on the day, making a 52-yard kick between the two kicks that were blocked.
Through two career games, Blewitt is 2 of 5 on field goal attempts with three blocked kicks. Unfortunately, the kicker is living up to the name. He's missed 60% of his kicks, all of which were blocked.
Washington signed Blewitt and released Hopkins two weeks ago. Hopkins made his debut with the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday and converted his only field goal attempt while making all three of his field goal attempts. This is after Hopkins hit 84% of his field goal attempts in six-plus seasons with Washington, including 85.7% in six games with the Football Team this year.
Based on the early results, Rivera blew it by moving on from Hopkins so soon -- especially for a kicker that hasn't kicked in a regular-season game of any kind since 2016 (Blewitt's senior year
