While the Dallas Cowboys still came out victorious, kicker Brett Maher had a day to forget against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As the Cowboys move on in the postseason, owner Jerry Jones didn't seem too confident on Maher maintaining his starting role.
Dallas defeated Tampa Bay 31-14. However, Maher missed four extra points, the most in playoff history. Jones spoke about Maher's status on his weekly 105.3 The Fan appearance. He certainly didn't give Maher a stamp of approval, via The Athletic's Jon Machota.
“It would be a pretty big setback to go into the rest of this tournament, rest of this playoff, with shakiness at kicker,” Jones said.
To Maher's credit, Cowboys' special teams coordinator John Fassel chalked the four missed extra points to, ‘the yips.' He added that he expects Maher to find the, ‘hot hand,' once again. Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy said the team plans to, ‘forge ahead,' with Maher as their starting kicker.
Brett Maher had a solid regular season for the Cowboys before his Buccaneers' misstep. He hit 50-of-53 extra points and 29-of-32 field goals. His 90.6% field goal percentage ranked eighth best in the NFL. Maher also tied for the league lead in extra point attempts, only missing three.
It would be hard for Dallas to find a serviceable Maher replacement this late into the season. However, Jerry Jones know that what happened against the Buccaneers cannot happen again.
Dallas will take on the San Francisco 49ers in the second-round of the playoffs. For the Cowboys to be successful, that can't afford any more Maher blow-up performances.
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