Ravens' Justin Tucker Putting Feelings Aside

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker knows he can't beat himself up over his recent struggles.

Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens place kicker Justin Tucker (9) reacts to a missed field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin celebrates his 35th birthday this week, but it may be hard to celebrate to the fullest.

There's no sugarcoating it, this season has been a brutal one for Tucker. The future Hall of Fame kicker has already missed six field goals, including two in Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and an extra point. His 72.7 field goal percentage would be the lowest in his career by far, and just recently, he lost the title of the most-accurate kicker in NFL history after his misses on Sunday.

Struggling like that is bound to take a mental toll, but Tucker doesn't seem interested in talking about his feelings.

"I'm fine. I'm really good," Tucker said Wednesday. "And again, I appreciate you checking in, but it's also kind of unimportant how I feel. What is important is how I perform, and I really do feel that way."

While maintaining a stoic exterior, Tucker is absolutely taking his misses to heart, probably more than anyone else.

"I do take it very personally. Anytime I leave a kick out there, it bothers me," Tucker said. For all the fans, supporters, coaches, players, anybody that cares about Ravens football, believe me when I say [that] nobody takes it more personally than I do. Nobody is more affected than me when I miss a kick. So, yes, I take it really personally.

"At the exact same time, my particular line of work requires – in my opinion – that I compartmentalize my feelings, and I leave them to the side, and I focus on the action of kicking the ball and not the consequence. So, as difficult as that may be at times, that is the challenge that I'm facing right now. That's my only option – is just to continue to work and focus on the action, focus on the process and let the results take care of themselves after just putting in the work."

Tucker's issue seems to be one of accuracy, not power. All of his missed kicks have gone wide left, which should make it a slightly easier to address, though. However, doing so will take a great deal of mental fortitude, which Tucker has shown to possess.

"If you just take the 10,000-foot view, and you look at where all the kicks have gone, they've gone just wide left, and – you just mentioned it – at the exact same time, each kick kind of lives in its own world," Tucker said. "But the adjustment is pretty clear; I just need to make it a point not to let the ball carry to the left. So, that's something that we're going to continue to work on in practice."

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

• Ravens Get First Look at Old Friend
• Ravens Coordinator Could Be Next Head Coach Hire
• Insider Shares Ravens' Confusing Diontae Johnson Plan
• Steelers Legend Explains Advantage Over Ravens
• Longtime Ravens Kicker Defends Justin Tucker