Justin Tucker doesnt duck media after missing game-tying PAT: I want to face it
Justin Tucker’s eyes told the story: of how he missed an extra-point attempt for the first time in his career at the absolute worst time for the Baltimore Ravens.
His eyes — wide and stunned, conveying how he could not believe what he just saw — quickly became a meme after Baltimore’s loss to the Saints on Sunday. And rather than duck reporters in the locker room, Tucker put in an unusual request. He asked to be allowed to take the postgame podium to answer questions, something usually reserved for the head coach, quarterback and perhaps another star player after a game.
Tucker, who is the most accurate kicker in NFL history and makes 90 percent of his kicks, then answered questions about his missed extra point, which would have tied the score with 24 seconds left against New Orleans. Instead, the kick went wide right, the Saints came away with a 24-23 victory and Tucker is now 245 for 246 on extra points over his professional career, including the postseason.
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“I want to face it,” he explained to Chad Steele, the Ravens' vice president of communications, according to Peter King, and he did just that.
“You play long enough, you’re going to have a kick that you want back,” Tucker said, “and tonight was that night for me.”
It was a breezy day in Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, but Tucker wasn’t looking for excuses.
“I felt like when the ball came off my foot, that I hit it just how I wanted to,” he said. “I can’t tell you exactly what happened, but at the end of the day, I feel like I cost us the game."
Tucker could have looked for someone to throw under the bus, but he didn’t, instead praising his teammates for having his back and saying, “that means the world to me.” Sam Koch, his holder, saw nothing unusual with the attempt.
“It was a great snap, we got the ball down with the laces out, and by the time I looked up, the ball was going right,” he said (via the Baltimore Sun). “It looked like it started right down the middle and then caught a gust of wind and started to fade to the right.”
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Tucker planned to “let this hurt for another couple of hours” and then learn from it.
“I’ll look at the game like I always do,” he said. “Nothing will change for me, I’ll tell you that. I’ll look at the game like I always do, look at the video from it, and do everything I can to compartmentalize what happened this evening and move on from it in a positive way.”
If he looked at social media, he’d learn that he probably shouldn’t play poker.
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