Browns K Dustin Hopkins Has Plan To Fix Kicking Struggles

After missing two field goals in a loss to the New Orleans Saints the Cleveland Browns kicker will work to correct his struggles on a short week

Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Cleveland Browns place kicker Dustin Hopkins (7) reacts to missing his second field goal attempt against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Week 11 proved to be a tough day at the office for Cleveland Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins.

The 34-year-old spoiled two different potential first-half scoring drives for Cleveland in a 35-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The forgettable performance left him reconciling with the fan base afterward.

"I'm just extremely thankful for the opportunity to go out there and blessed in so many ways outside of football and in football," he said. "But I expect better for my teammates, I expect better for the city of Cleveland. It does not feel good being the weak link in a football game, and I was definitely that today."

Hopkins first misfire of the day came on with about 6:45 to go in the second quarter. Browns quarterback Jameis Winston had marched the offense from their own 26 to the New Orleans 33 before the drive stalled. That paved the way for Hopkins to come on and attempt a 51-yarder, which he pooched just left of the uprights.

That distance is no chip-shot, so missing from that far out is somewhat understandable. It's his second miss that wound up being more egregious. Hopkins missed that attempt from just 27 yards out as the first half clock expired. It was made worse by the fact that he had missed from 32-yards three plays prior and was bailed out by a penalty that gifted the Browns a couple extra shots at the end zone before sending Hopkins out to try again. From five yards closer he still pushed it left.

"Form-wise, I kind of went into halftime, felt better about where I needed to be, but it was too late," he explained. "Mentally I feel really good...I'm passionate about it. Mentally, I don't feel too relaxed, I don't feel panicky out there. Mentally, I'm feeling like I'm in a good space.

In the end, Hopkins never got another opportunity to redeem himself, but he took solace in the idea that his halftime scouting seems to have produced a solution to his Sunday struggles.

"It's more that I think I need to take a swing through that I haven't practiced, that I don't necessarily typically take into a game that I need to transfer that into the game for some reason," Hopkins said. "I don't know if that's, maybe I'm rushing to the ball and I have to think about that or whatever, but I think taking a new swing thought into game day is going to be a really good thing."

Cleveland Browns : LIVE REACTION After Browns are Embarrassed by New Orleans, Lose 35-14 https://t.co/o9RlDDrvG7

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Counting the two latest misses, Hopkins is now 14-of-20 on FG attempts this season. On kicks of 50-plus yards – a range where he went a perfect eight-for-eight in 2023 – he's just four-of-eight this year. Hopkins has also missed as many extra points (two) as he did all of last season. It hasn't been the steady performance the Browns expected when they signed the 10-year veteran to a three-year contract extension this offseason.

Regardless, he plans on staying the course.

"Practice-wise, I'm practicing better than arguably I've ever practiced," said Hopkins. "And in-game, just feels a little different. But yeah, I think hopefully I got my finger on it at halftime today, and I can take that into the short week."

Despite the struggles, Hopkins hasn't lost the faith of his teammates. Browns quarterback Jameis Winston is plenty familiar with Hopkins from their time together at Florida State. Winston expressed confidence that he'll bounce back.

"I've been with Dustin 13 years ago, when I was at Florida State and he was the golden boot," he said. "I'm always gonna have tremendous faith in him and I trust he's gonna continue to work and get better. He's gonna get better for us. Like I'm gonna get better for us. Like the defensive is gonna get better for us. Like the offensive is gonna get better for us. We're all in this together. Yes, it's tough when all eyes on you ... when all eyes on you, you gotta hunker down and show up."

Hopkins will attempt to do that in a short week, with the Steelers coming to town on Thursday.