Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has been one of the best in the NFL at his position for years. He has been an almost automatic field goal or extra point when called upon.
Unfortunately, this season has deviated from that. Tucker has struggled mightily.
Throughout the 13 games he has played this season, Tucker has made just 19 of his 27 field goal attempts. He has also missed two extra points.
At 35 years old, this is a first for Tucker. He has never struggled this much and it has become very frustrating for Tucker, the team, and the fans. However, the Ravens have stayed loyal to him and believe that he will work his way out of the funk.
One former NFL kicker, Jay Feely, has spoken out with a theory about Tucker’s struggles. He thinks it’s more mental than anything at this point.
“He has never dealt with failure. He has had this invincible shield around him his entire career from college to the NFL, and he’s been able to not worry about missing,” Feely said. “He’s super aggressive through the ball and he’s confident when he’s kicking the ball and he’s never doubting his form.”
Tucker simply needs to keep kicking the way that he has throughout his entire career. There is no reason to change anything. Remaining confident is more important than anything else.
It has been good to see Baltimore’s patience and belief in Tucker. He has provided so much consistency for the franchise and the team has now given him the same.
Hopefully, Tucker will be able to figure out his issues down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs. Should he continue struggling, the Ravens might be forced to consider making a change.
Seeing these struggles has been perplexing. An all-time great kicker kicking this bad just doesn’t happen very often. Some have suggested that age may be starting to catch up to Tucker.
While that is a theory as well, Tucker’s leg strength has not looked bad. He has just been missing the kicks. That leads to the belief that it’s more of a mental issue than anything.
All of that being said, Tucker will have another chance to get back on track this week. Baltimore is set to hit the road for a Week 15 matchup against the New York Giants.
Ideally, he’ll have an opportunity to start righting the ship with some made kicks.
