Justin Tucker is one of the best kickers in NFL history. However, if you only watched the Baltimore Ravens this season, you would have no idea that he is an all-time great.
The five-time First-Team All-Pro is having the worst year of his legendary 13-year career and it is starting to become a significant liability… if it’s not already.
Tucker made no less than 86% of his field goal attempts leading up to September. A large number of his misses during those years were from 50+ yards so those numbers are slightly skewed.
- 2012 — 90.9%
- 2013 — 92.7%
- 2014 — 85.3%
- 2015 — 82.5%
- 2016 — 97.4%
- 2017 — 91.9%
- 2018 — 89.7%
- 2019 — 96.6%
- 2020 — 89.7%
- 2021 — 94.6%
- 2022 — 86.0%
- 2023 — 86.5%
And then there’s 2024. Tucker is currently 19-of-27. His season percentage dropped to 70.4% with two missed field goals on Sunday. That doesn’t include his missed PAT.
Although it is not quite as simple as it sounds, the Ravens lost to the Eagles by five. Baltimore’s kicker left six points on the board so Tucker was technically the difference.
"That is concerning as it gets later in the year if I'm a Ravens fan." – Tony Romo on Justin Tucker missing another field goal pic.twitter.com/ynU0hr422F
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 1, 2024
It is officially time to ask whether Justin Tucker is doing more harm than good but head coach Jim Harbaugh is not hitting the panic button, yet. He is not going to make a change at kicker, yet.
[Tucker is] definitely capable of making every kick […] Nobody wants to make those kicks more than Justin.
If you’re asking me are we going to move on from Justin Tucker, I’m not really planning on doing that right now.
— Jim Harbaugh
“Right now” seem to be the key words there. It sounds like a change could come down the road if this downward trend continues closer to the playoffs.
Is Justin Tucker cursed?
Even though the 35-year-old’s job is secure — for “right now” — his struggles can be traced back to one specific moment. He might be cursed by the voodoo of Patrick Mahomes and/or Taylor Swift.
Tucker intentionally interrupted the Chiefs during warmups at the AFC Championship. Mahomes and Travis Kelce were furious. The latter threw his helmet aside. The former threw his kicking tee.
Travis Kelce told Justin Tucker he needed to move because their QB Patrick Mahomes had to warm up. So Kelce kicked his ball away and threw his helmet. 😂 pic.twitter.com/pFF0DC1yA7
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 28, 2024
Mahomes sounded off on Tucker’s antics after the game, which Kansas City won. He was not pleased and the same went for Kelce.
Tucker tried to play it off like no big deal, but the damage was already done.
The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl with Swift in attendance last year. They moved to 11-1 this year with a win on Friday. Good things always seem to happen to Mahomes, Kelce and Kansas City. Especially since the arrival of Swift.
Meanwhile, Tucker is currently in the middle of the worst season of his career. Coincidence? That’s up to you to decide… but the evidence is compelling… Justin Tucker might actually be cursed!!