OWINGS MILLS — Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is struggling with field-goal attempts over 50 yards, which might force coach John Harbaugh to adjust his playcalling when the team drives into opponents’ territory.
Tucker, 34, has missed a field-goal attempt in each of the Ravens’ first two games. He missed a 53-yarder in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sunday, his 56-yard attempt had the distance but hooked wide left against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Ravens lost both games and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2015.
Dating to last season, Tucker has converted just one kick on his last seven attempts from 50 or more yards. After Sunday’s game against the Raiders, Tucker was not in the mood to get into specifics about his recent struggles.
“As simply as I can put it, it’s not my favorite topic of discussion, but I just missed the kick,” he said. “I don’t want to continue having this conversation. When I go out on the field, I’m confident that I’m going to nail every single kick, no matter where we are on the field.”
Tucker has a Hall of Fame-caliber career and has 90.2 percent career accuracy on field goals, which is best in the NFL. He has won numerous games for the Ravens and owns the record for the longest field goal in NFL history — a 66-yarder against the Detroit Lions in 2021.
Tucker has 19 game-winning field goals (18 regular season and one playoff game), connecting on 11 of those in road games. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler and earned First-Team All-Pro honors five times.
Coach John Harbaugh has not lost faith in Tucker.
“[We have the] utmost confidence in Justin, absolutely,” Harbaugh said Monday. “[We have the] utmost confidence in him to send him out there every time we need a kick, and [we have] the utmost confidence that he’s going to be the best at it and do a great job and do what he does. He’s our guy. We believe in Justin, for sure.”
Tucker’s biggest concern is for the Ravens to get back on track after starting the season with two straight losses.
“This team is too talented, too hard-working with the leadership that we have in the locker room and all throughout our coaching staff,” Tucker said. “We have every reason to be confident. Every little thing that we can address, we will. I think the key is to just come together and keep working.”
