Justin Tucker’s rare slump continued on Sunday, but the Baltimore Ravens aren’t planning any changes in their kicking game just yet.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh backed Tucker, who is one of the best kickers in NFL history, on Monday despite his latest string of missed kicks.
“The best option is to get Justin back on point,” Harbaugh said, via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “We certainly haven’t lost any confidence in Justin. He’s definitely our best option.”
The Ravens first signed Tucker in 2012, and he quickly became a mainstay in their lineup and turned himself into one of the most reliable kickers across the league. But on Sunday, Tucker missed field goals from 47 and 50 yards out in the first half of their 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even one of those would have theoretically been enough to give the Ravens the win, and Steelers kicker Chris Boswell went a perfect 6-of-6 to score all of their points in the win.
Tucker has now missed six field goals this season, and he missed his first extra point of the year last week. Last season, Tucker missed just five field goals and one extra point all year. He is one missed field goal away from matching the worst season of his career, too.
And, to add to his struggles, Tucker has now fallen slightly behind Eddy Pineiro on the league’s all-time accuracy list.
Though he said it’s been “certainly frustrating” this season, Tucker insists his confidence isn’t shaken with his string of missed kicks.
“I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick,” Tucker said after Sunday’s loss, via the Ravens. “Part of the way we stay confident is by continuing to work and trust the process. I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success – is just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time.”
Tucker and the Ravens will take on the Los Angeles Chargers next week on Monday night in Southern California. Their loss to Pittsburgh dropped them to 7-4 on the season and two games back of the Steelers in the AFC North race.
“Tuck needs to make kicks. He knows that, that’s important,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “He makes them in practice, and he made the long one later, which was good to see – which means he’s still very capable. Kick them straight, we’ll be good.”