The most accurate kicker in NFL history is currently going through an unexpected slump.
Justin Tucker missed several kicks in the Baltimore Ravens’ 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Before the game, Tucker had made 89.4% of his field goals, the highest percentage by any NFL kicker who has attempted at least 150 field goals.
He made kicks from 34 and 50 yards against the Eagles but missed a 47-yard attempt to the left and a 53-yard attempt to the right. Both missed kicks came in the third quarter while the Ravens were trailing 14-12. Earlier, Tucker hit an extra point that bounced off the upright after the Ravens had jumped to a 9-0 lead.
“As simply as I can put it, I missed the kicks, and I’ll leave it at that,” Tucker said. “I just left the points out there. I feel like I cost us this one, but it doesn’t really do anybody any good to dwell on it. The only thing that we can do — that I can do — is just continue to work, move forward, take it one kick at a time.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh couldn’t understand why a kicker who had been so reliable inside 60 yards suddenly missed easier kicks.
“We’ll go back and look at all that stuff and try to do the best we can to try to figure it out,” Harbaugh said. “He’s definitely capable of making every kick. We need him to make those kicks, and nobody wants to make them more than Justin, I promise you that.”
The Ravens (8-5) are on a bye next week, and there are no plans to hold a tryout for kickers.
“If you’re asking me if we’re going to move on from Justin Tucker, I’m not really planning on doing that right now. I don’t think that would be wise,” Harbaugh said. “He’ll be the first to tell you he has to make as many kicks as he can. And if you look at Justin Tucker’s history, I would say he’s capable of doing that.”
Since joining the NFL in 2012, Tucker has made 62 field goals from 50 yards or more, including an NFL record 66-yard kick in Detroit in 2021. Before Sunday’s game, Tucker had a 93.6% success rate in the second half and overtime, the best in NFL history for kickers with at least 100 attempts.
But against the Eagles, his two missed kicks in the second half put the Ravens in a tough position. Just two weeks earlier, Tucker missed two field goals in an 18-16 loss to division rival Pittsburgh, forcing the Ravens to attempt a failed 2-point conversion with 1:06 left.
Tucker, a player known for his 20 career game-winning kicks, found himself discussing his missed attempts.
“I hate that I’ve had to have this same conversation over the course of this season,” Tucker said. “But that’s something that comes with the territory in this job description. The kicks are either good or they’re not, and today, I did not do a good enough job to help our team win the football game.”
His teammates can’t believe that Tucker, who has been so reliable, is suddenly struggling.
“I said this to some of the guys on the sideline: I think this is normal for kickers, but we’ve been so blessed by Tucker’s eliteness that we kind of take it for granted,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “We used to sit there when he gets out there and know it’s going in. But I think great players, they get out of those slumps at the right moment. And I think Tucker’s one of those guys.”
