Justin Tucker set the standard for NFL kickers for a dozen seasons, whether it was clutch kicks, long-range field goals, or accuracy.
He is currently finding it difficult to live up to the lofty standards he set. The Baltimore Ravens’ 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday was largely caused by Tucker’s two missed field goals, which prolonged one of his worst slumps and eliminated him as the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
John Harbaugh, the coach of the Ravens, stated on Monday that no plans exist to bring in competition for Tucker. “The best option right now is to get Justin back on point because he is fully capable of doing it,” Harbaugh stated. “We certainly haven’t lost any confidence in Justin Tucker.” Seven-time Pro Bowl kicker Tucker missed field goals of 47 and 50 yards on Sunday before making one from 54 yards out. Eleven games into the season, his conversion rate has dropped to 72.7%, the lowest it has ever been. He is one miss away from tying his career-worst total of six, which is one more than he had all season long. In 2015, he was 33 out of 40, failing seven times. “He’s going to get it figured out,” stated Harbaugh. “We have technique and coaches. He is practicing well, as we can see from the footage. He needs to get his act together.
In Baltimore’s four losses so far this season, Tucker has missed five field goals. In a three-point loss to the Las Vegas Raiders (26-23) in Week 2, he failed to convert a 56-yard field goal, then on Sunday, he missed two attempts in a two-point loss to the Steelers. Tucker found himself in an unfamiliar situation on Sunday after missing multiple attempts for just the sixth time in 206 career games. Among kickers with at least 100 attempts, Tucker is not the most accurate for one of the few times in the past eight years. His 89.3% career success rate (411-of-460) is less than that of Eddy Pineiro of the Carolina Panthers, who has an 89.4% career success rate (101-of-113). Tucker declared, “I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick,” following the game on Sunday. “We maintain our confidence in part by persevering and having faith in the process.
I may sound like a broken record, but simply trusting the process and moving forward one step at a time is part of what makes us successful. The Ravens don’t think age is a factor, even though Tucker turns 35 on Thursday. Tucker’s misses of 53, 56, 46, 50, 47, and 50 yards have all been successful. They’ve all been far to the left. A shift in holders has accompanied Tucker’s decline in consistency. Tucker made 90.5% of his field goals (363-of-401) while punter Sam Koch was his holder from 2012 to 2022.
Jerry Rosburg, the former coordinator of special teams for Baltimore, referred to Koch as “the best holder in the history of football.” Koch, who is now the assistant special teams coach, retired after the Ravens selected punter Jordan Stout in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. Tucker has converted 81.4% of his attempts (48-of-59) throughout the last two seasons while Stout has been the holder.
On Monday, Harbaugh stated that the misses have “not specifically” been affected by the hold or the mechanics of setting up the kick. “They work together,” Harbaugh commented. “I believe Justin gives those guys a lot of credit when things go smoothly. They all, in my opinion, accept responsibility for both the positive and negative outcomes. When Tucker made a 66-yard field goal to win a game in Detroit three years ago, he still owns the record for the longest field goal in NFL history. He is also a perfect 6-for-6 in overtime and 28-of-31 in the last two minutes of regulation.
Following the victory on Sunday, Chris Boswell, the kicker for the Steelers, called Tucker “a legend” and “a future Hall of Famer.”
