Even Ravens All-Pro is Part of Early Struggles

The Baltimore Ravens have struggled in all three phases to begin the season.

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) reacts after missing a field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Automatic is one word most commonly associated with Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for most of his career.

Across the last two seasons, he has been anything but that from over 50 yards. Since last season, Tucker has made just one field goal from that distance in his last seven attempts. Through two games, Tucker has gone 0-2, including a miss from 56 yards out in the second quarter of the Ravens' 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

"The ball was coming off my foot pretty nicely," Tucker said. "Nick [Moore] was throwing back good snaps and Jordan [Stout] was throwing back good holds. And then, I just misfired on the one from 56 [yards]. [I] left three points out there that we certainly could have used down the stretch in this game, but at the exact same time, 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."

Tucker's miss set the table for Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson to make a 51-yard field goal and tie the game with 1:42 left in the first half. Carlson was 4-4 on the day and 2-2 on his attempts from over 50 yards, including making the game-winning field goal from 38 yards out with 27 seconds remaining in the game.

There's no disputing how good Tucker has been throughout his 12-plus-year career. He's a five-time All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler, has led the league in field goals made three times and percentage of field goals made once.

Tucker has made under 90 percent of his kicks in 2022 and 2023, the first time that has happened since 2014-2015. Over the last two seasons, he's made 86.3 percent of his kicks.

The former All-Pro kicker isn't the only player struggling on the Ravens. They're 0-2 for the first time since 2015, quite the juxtaposition to the team that was a game away from reaching the Super Bowl last season.

If Baltimore and Tucker want any shot of turning things around, it has to do so quickly. While history doesn't favor the Ravens and their hopes of making the playoffs, Tucker is steadfast in his belief that the team can right the ship.

"This is a long season," Tucker said. "We're 0-2, but we have every reason to be confident. We can clean up some things. 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."

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