Smyth earned his opportunity after regular kicker Blake Grupe was waived by the Saints, and he came through a competition against veteran Cade York to earn his shot at the NFL.
The former Down GAA goalkeeper landed a 56-yard field goal and a rare onside kick on his debut but had mixed fortunes in the surprise victory over the Buccaneers.
Smyth missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt in the driving rain, but his 30-yard effort tied the game in the closing stages of the third quarter.
He was perfect from his three extra-point attempts, but failed to hit the landing zone late in the game from a kick-off although the Buccaneers could not capitalise on the error.
Galiano was pleased with Smyth’s reaction after his first missed field-goal attempt and believes there were plenty of positives to take from his first two appearances.
“I thought it was good as he missed it and came over to the sideline, I grabbed him and said, ‘hey, you got your first miss in the NFL out the way, so how are you going to respond to it?'” added Galiano.
“All you can do is make the next one at every opportunity and he came and responded and did a good job. All those points are very important for us.”
