Baltimore Ravens place kicker Justin Tucker. Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Despite recent downturn, Ravens HC John Harbaugh still backing kicker Justin Tucker

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Nov 18, 2024 4:59 PM ET

Baltimore's Justin Tucker has gone from an asset to a liability this season, but the Ravens are standing behind their star kicker.

Through his first 11 games, Tucker has made a career-low 72.7% of his field-goal attempts. Amid his struggles, Eddy Pineiro of the Carolina Panthers (89.381%) has surpassed Tucker (89.348%) as the most accurate kicker in NFL history.

On Monday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said they'll focus on helping Tucker end his slump instead of bringing in some competition.

"The best option right now is to get Justin back on point," Harbaugh said, per The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec. "We certainly haven't lost any confidence in Justin Tucker. He's definitely our best option."

Harbaugh said there is no thought to bringing in kickers/competition for Justin Tucker's job.
"The best option right now is to get Justin back on point. We certainly haven't lost any confidence in Justin Tucker. He's definitely our best option."
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) November 18, 2024

Sticking with Tucker — a five-time first-team All-Pro — makes sense, considering he had nearly been automatic until this season. In a 19-17 victory over the Detroit Lions in 2021, he made a winning 66-yard field goal, the longest in league history.

In Sunday's 18-16 road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tucker missed two field goals of 40-plus yards. In his postgame news conference, Tucker said he hasn't lost confidence, even though it's "certainly frustrating" to keep flubbing kicks.

"I'm still confident I'm going to go out there and nail every single kick," Tucker said, according to Ryan Mink of the team website. "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 part of what brings us success — is just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time."

Baltimore (7-4) is in the thick of the playoff hunt and a tight AFC North race with the Steelers (8-2). The Ravens better hope their trust in Tucker pays off. They certainly don't want his accuracy issues to come back to bite them.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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