The days of automatically assuming the Baltimore Ravens were going to get points on the board when they reached the opponent’s 35-yard line may be over. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is 0 – 2 from 50 yards or more out this year. That comes after he was 1 of 5 from 50+ last season.
Tucker is 5-of-8 on field goals this year. His 62.5 percent conversion rate and well below his career mark of 89.7 percent. So, what happened?
“It’s just a technique issue he’s working through right now,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s got a technique thing going on. He’ll work through it. He knows exactly what it is and just needs to smooth it back out. I’m very confident that he will.”
Harbaugh would know. He cut his teeth as a special teams coach with the Philadelphia Eagles before taking the head coach job with the Ravens.
Tucker vows to continue working through the issues he’s having. And he isn’t going to lose his confidence.
“When I go out on the field, I’m confident that I’m going to nail every single kick, no matter where we are on the field,” Tucker said. “Trying to overanalyze or dwell on a mistake or a performance that is not up to our collective standard, that’s not going to do us any good. What is going to help us is continuing to trust the process, and just come together as a team, and get to work. This is a long season.
“I think everybody in here would say the real accountability is taking the burden of blame on yourself so somebody else doesn’t have to. And everybody else in this locker room is built just like that. I think we’re going to be just fine. We’re going to be a really good football team.”
Tucker is considered one of the best kickers. His 89.9% career field goal accuracy is the best ever. Tucker’s best season came in 2021 when he led the league at 94.6 percent and also drilled an NFL-record 66-yarder.
Tucker’s resume boasts seven Pro Bowls, five first-team All-Pros, and includes being a member of the Ravens team that won Super Bowl XLVII. He’s earned the respect and admiration of his head coach who believes in him.
“I just love [Justin Tucker], [and] I respect him. He’s everything that you want in a player [and] in a friend,” Harbaugh said. “Justin [Tucker] knows that we support him; I’ve tried to make sure he knows that – that’s part of it, just relationship-wise. The talent and the ability, all of that stuff is there. That hasn’t gone anywhere – we see it all the time – but [the issue is] a technique thing.”
Tucker hopes to get back on track when the Ravens host the Buffalo Bills this weekend.