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On Sunday, one kicker’s woes gave another kicker the chance to make history.
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed two field goals during Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a rare sight that has become more common for the veteran this season. His two misses made Carolina Panthers’ kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who had this week off, the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
Tucker’s missed field goals dropped his career percentage to 89.348 percent (411-of-460) while Piñeiro has made 89.381 percent (101-of-113) of his field goal tries.
“I would definitely rather get it hitting a kick or something, obviously not on somebody else’s downfall,” Piñeiro said, per Darin Gantt of the team website (h/t Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams). “But at the end of the day, Justin Tucker is the greatest of all time. From the amount of kicks that he’s kicked and I’ve kicked, he’s kicked four times the amount of kicks that I’ve kicked. And to stay at that level, him being a seven-time Pro Bowler, I mean, there’s no question: He’s the greatest of all time.”
While Piñeiro holds the best percentage for now, a few misfires from him and a few makes from Tucker could turn things around. Piñeiro is also only in his seventh season while Tucker is in his 13th.
Tucker’s missed field goals on Sunday were consequential as the Ravens lost 18-16, but the seven-time Pro Bowler’s confidence is unshaken.
“I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick,” Tucker said after Sunday’s game, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “Part of the way we stay confident is by continuing to work and trust the process. I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success — is just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time.”
Hensley also reported that Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh said Baltimore has no plans of bringing in competition for Tucker.
Tucker will start working towards regaining his NFL-best percentage next week against the Los Angeles Chargers.
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