The Baltimore Ravens have a kicking crisis. Yes, you read that right.
Justin Tucker has been one of the biggest weak links for the Ravens so far this season, and Sunday may have been his worst game yet. Tucker missed two field goals in the first quarter in what ended up being an 18-16 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers, giving Mike Tomlin and company the inside track to the AFC North title.
Tucker's missed kicks have cost the Ravens in some of their previous losses this season, such as against the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders, but none were as costly as the two misses in Pittsburgh on Sunday. This loss gives the Steelers a 1.5 game lead in the division with the head-to-head tiebreaker for the moment.
Despite Tucker's down season, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is happy to stick with his kicker, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
“The best option right now is to get Justin back on point,” Harbaugh said, per Zrebiec. “We certainly haven't lost any confidence in Justin Tucker. He's definitely our best option.”
Tucker is just 16-for-22 on field goals this season, which is almost 10 percentage points lower than his previous career-low. He is only 4-for-6 on 40-49 yard kicks, which is shocking considering he used to be absolutely automatic from that range.
Ravens still can't get over the hump vs. Steelers

The Lamar Jackson era of Ravens football has undoubtedly been a successful one, but they have been unable to get over the hump against their biggest rivals during that span. The Steelers have now won the last four meetings between the two rivals and have also taken home a victory in eight of the last nine meetings.
That is a stunning stat, considering the two teams have been very evenly matched this decade, with the Ravens maybe even having a slight advantage in that department. Each time the Ravens fall short, it has been due to the shortcomings of their offense.
The Ravens offense has been one of the elite units in football for almost as long as Jackson has been the quarterback, but they can't seem to crack the code that is this Steelers defense.
The Ravens have been held under 20 points in their last eight games against the Steelers, which is a bizarre number considering the success they have against most other teams. This is the same unit that hung 41 on the elite Denver Broncos defense just two weeks ago. However, in this matchup, their receivers are unable to consistently get any separation and the Ravens are far too careless with the football.
This is a hump that the Ravens are going to have to overcome this season, as the Steelers are going to be a consistent fixture in the AFC playoff picture. Mike Tomlin's club is currently 8-2 and is in the driver's seat in the AFC North, so the Ravens are going to have to solve this puzzle in order to reach their goals this season.