It has been a troublesome sight for soccer followers to see kicker Justin Tucker battle so ceaselessly this season when he is virtually locked up a legacy of accuracy and clutch moments.
The Baltimore Ravens placekicker is barely 19-for-27 this year in subject objectives (70.4%) and 42-for-44 in additional factors.
He not too long ago misplaced his once-thought locked-up spot as the most accurate kicker in NFL history in Week 11 after his crew’s 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And Sunday, he had seven points-worth of missed kicks within the five-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Since then, requires Tucker’s launch have develop into deafening to the purpose the place head coach John Harbaugh was pressured to publicly quell them with his verbal support for the 35-year-old.
However may Tucker, the person liable for so many last-minute victories, really be deserving of the blame for Baltimore’s losses this season?
CBS Sports activities researcher Doug Clawson posted a thought-provoking thread on X Monday that implies so.
Whereas hypotheticals will ship anybody down a rabbit gap, there’s really exhausting movie and information to again this scenario-based question.
4 of Baltimore’s 5 losses include a minimum of one missed subject objective by Tucker that, when added to the ultimate rating, would’ve given the Ravens the win.
In every other season, Tucker makes these kicks, and the crew is 12-1 at worst (the 27-20 loss to the Chiefs in Week 1 got here right down to needing a landing to win regardless of Tucker lacking a subject objective early).
So, will Baltimore have to make a troublesome resolution this offseason and reduce Tucker free, or will they offer him one other yr to straighten issues out and hopefully return to his former glory?
Tucker nonetheless has three extra seasons remaining on his current contract, however the crew has an escape hatch after this season that might end in an over $7.5M useless cap hit.
