NFL players are good as always, but some stars are struggling – NBC New York

This was supposed to be a golden age for place kicks in the NFL.

Try telling that to the fans in Baltimore. Philadelphia and currently Cincinnati.

Justin Tucker, Jake Elliott and Evan McPherson (three of the league’s most reliable players in recent years) are in a slump that has reached crisis point. This is a staggering development, not only because of what these players have already accomplished, but also because this was a period when misses were becoming increasingly rare.

“It’s definitely frustrating that I let a couple get away, especially when we know these (Ravens-Steelers) games end up like they did today,” Tucker said after missing two field goals in the Ravens’ 18th. We lost -16 to Pittsburgh last weekend.

“But as I said before, all we can do is get back to work immediately and focus on making the most of the next opportunity.”

A five-time All-Pro, Tucker has been a phenomenon for most of his career. His combination of leg strength, accuracy and clutch performance make him the all-time great at the position, and he stands out even when players around the league have raised expectations.

Kickers have made 84.9% of their shot attempts league-wide this season. While that’s a tick below last year’s 85.9%, it still ranks among the most accurate seasons in NFL history. And on 50-plus yard attempts, kickers are converting 71.9% of the time in 2024. Thirty years ago this figure was less than 40%.

While the rest of the league caught up with players like Tucker, he took a step back. He’s already missed six field goals this season, and two weeks ago the Ravens had to overcome a missed extra point in the fourth quarter of a win against Cincinnati.

“He’s going to figure it out. We’ve got the coaches. We’ve got the technique. We’re looking at the tape,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s been practicing well. He needs to hit it directly.”

Tucker had a 56-yard field goal against Cincinnati last month, a game the Ravens eventually won in overtime. In the same game, McPherson missed a 53-yard field goal that could have won it for the Bengals.

When McPherson came into the league in 2021, he was 9 of 11 from 50-plus yards in the regular season and then made all 14 field goal attempts in the playoffs. This season has been much more inconsistent.

In Sunday night’s tie against the Los Angeles Chargers, McPherson made losses from 48 and 51 yards in the fourth quarter, and the Bengals lost 34-27.

“He knows how to make those throws,” star receiver Ja’Marr Chase said. “That’s why we paid him that money, to take those shots in critical moments.”

The Eagles are in a better spot than the Ravens and Bengals; Philadelphia has won six in a row. But Elliott gave them some time to worry. He missed two field goals and an extra point in Thursday night’s win over Washington.

“We have a lot of confidence in him,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “This team has a lot of faith in Jake Elliott because of his background, who he is, as a teammate and as a captain.”

Elliott, who earned second-team All-Pro honors last season, signed a four-year, $24 million extension in March. Big extensions followed for Cleveland’s Dustin Hopkins (three years, $15.9 million), Kansas City’s Harrison Butker (four years, $25.6 million) and McPherson (three years, $16.5 million).

Elliott has missed five field goal attempts this season, while Hopkins and McPherson have missed six each. Butker had a good shot but lately surgery required on the non-kicking knee.

There’s enough time left in the season for some of these tough players to get their act together, and their track record certainly suggests it could happen, but especially for teams like Baltimore and Philadelphia, the odds of making the playoffs are pretty high. And when that happens, the kicking game will only get bigger.

At the start of the season, few would have expected the Ravens and Eagles to have any trouble in this area. Now this is a real concern.

“He’s definitely our best option and he’s going to get a lot of innings going forward — I really believe that,” Harbaugh said. “But that’s up to him. It’s up to him and the guys he works with every day to make sure those balls go right.”

The longest field goal in NFL history was a 66-yard FG by the Ravens’ Justin Tucker in 2021. Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey was a yard behind that, scoring the second-longest field goal with a 65-yarder on September 22, 2024. .