Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker celebrates a area aim through the second half of a sport in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, in Baltimore. Julio Cortez, Related Press
Justin Tucker has lengthy been often known as probably the greatest — if not one of the best — kickers in NFL historical past and, on Sunday, he reminded everybody why.
Tucker made 4 area objectives through the Baltimore Ravens’ 19-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night time Soccer, together with a game-winner as the ultimate seconds of the sport clock ticked down.
That closing kick, from 43 yards out, added to Tucker’s virtually unbelievable resume.
“Tucker has now made 61 straight kicks in both the fourth quarter or extra time, and he has made 19 game-winning kicks. He’s an ideal 17-for-17 throughout his profession on kicks within the closing minute of regulation or extra time,” in response to the Baltimore Ravens web site.
What NFL data does Justin Tucker maintain?
Along with being clutch below stress, Tucker has confirmed to be one of the crucial correct kickers within the historical past of the league — with one of many strongest legs.
He holds the document for the longest made area aim (66 yards) and for the fewest variety of video games required to achieve 300 profitable kicks, in response to The New York Instances.
“Tucker additionally holds the NFL document for accuracy. Since his rookie yr in 2012, he has made 91.1% of his field-goal makes an attempt, and over the previous decade, he has scored a median of 136 factors per yr — which is greater than some other participant, in any place, ever,” the article mentioned.
Utilizing @NextGenStats ball monitoring information, Justin Tucker's sport profitable area aim crossed the upright with a y-coordinate (width of area) of 26.52.
— Michael Lopez (@StatsbyLopez) October 10, 2022
The precise center of the sector is y= 26.67
That's, if the uprights had been half a yard huge, the kick would have nonetheless been good
Why is Justin Tucker so good?
In latest interviews, Tucker has credited a number of elements with explaining his success on the sector.
For one factor, he makes time in his prekick routine for a brief prayer, which helps him calm his nerves.
“Whether or not I’m feeling assured, or nervous or outright afraid, that’s why I all the time make it a degree to say a quick prayer as I’m lining up the kick,” he mentioned after Sunday’s sport.
Tucker additionally credited his teammates, particularly these instantly concerned in his kicks, with setting him up for achievement.
“My emotions don’t matter. What issues is seeing the ball snapped with 12 o’clock laces from Nick Moore. Seeing the ball noticed cleanly from Jordan Stout. ... From there, I’m only a system kicker. The ball kicks itself at that time,” Tucker mentioned.