Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is working through a “technique issue,” coach John Harbaugh said after the seven-time Pro Bowl selection missed a field goal attempt for the third straight week in the team’s win over the Dallas Cowboys.
“He knows exactly what it is,” Harbaugh said. “He just needs to smooth it back out. I’m very confident that he will.”
With a chance to put the Ravens up 31-6 in the fourth quarter, Tucker missed from 46 yards, hooking his attempt outside the left upright, just as he had on longer misses in the team’s first two games. Until his latest miss, worries had focused on Tucker’s 1-for-7 record from 50 yards or beyond over the last two seasons. He missed just once inside 50 yards last season.
FOX’s broadcast captured Harbaugh speaking with Tucker on the sideline at the end of Sunday’s game.
“We’re pretty close,” Harbaugh said Monday. “We’ve been together for a long time and had a lot of conversations. It was just two guys talking about where we’re at. I love the guy and respect him. He’s everything that you want in a player and a friend. That was the basis of that.”
After Tucker missed wide left from 56 yards in the Ravens’ 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, he said: “As simply as I can put it, it’s not my favorite topic of discussion, but I just missed the kick. I don’t want to continue having this conversation. 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 remains the most accurate kicker in NFL history with a field goal percentage of 89.7%, but his struggles have come at a time when his peers are making long attempts at unprecedented rates. Dallas’ All-Pro, Brandon Aubrey, hit almost casually from 65 yards (one short of Tucker’s record long) against the Ravens.
“Justin knows that we support him. I’ve tried to make sure he knows that,” Harbaugh said. “The talent, the ability, all that stuff is there. That hasn’t gone anywhere. You see it all the time. But it’s a technique thing, so we’ll coach it from a technical standpoint. Randy Brown does a great job coaching it. Randy’s the foremost guy in the business at that, so they work on that every single day. Justin’s a pro. I have great belief that he’ll get the job done.”