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There's no two ways about it: Week 13 was an ugly cherry on top of a horrible season by Justin Tucker.
After struggling on field goals and extra points all season long, Tucker consistently put the Ravens behind the T with his inefficiency, missing two of his four field goal attempts and even one of his two extra point attempts to effectively take a touchdown off the Baltimore board in a game decided by just five points.
Considering how tight things are at the top of the AFC North, it would be understandable if some players were upset with how Tucker has struggled, right, with his efforts impacting multiple games for the worse? You bet, but thus far, that hasn't been the case, with both John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson publicly issuing their votes of support and Mark Andrews following suit after the game, letting everyone know he still believes in the All-Pro kicker.
“[Justin Tucker] is about the most pro vet that you can get, so for us, just having his back,” Andrews declared. “He's going to get it down. Just believe.”
Asked if he had any advice for Tucker about overcoming the doubter, Andrew said no, noting that the All-Pro kicker already knows what he needs to do in order to get back on track.
“[Justin Tucker] knows. Like I said before, he knows. But just stay true to yourself and keep on going, and don't let anything phase you, don't let anybody phase you, and just know that in this locker room, this team, this organization, we all have each other's back, and we're all here for a reason,” Andrews said. “That's the most important thing – is they brought us here for a reason, we do what we do, and everything will work out great. So, we keep saying that; I think we have. It's been different every game, [and] there are some good things we did in this game.”
Good on Andrews for stepping up and supporting his pal, right? Well, wait, it gets even better, as nearly every player on the Ravens was asked a similar question and provided their own little bit of support to the Ravens struggling kicker.
The Ravens clearly believe Justin Tucker can return to form
Asked about Tucker's misses in Week 13, former Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey repeated to the media what he boldly declared on the sidelines: Tucker has the talent to get out of his slump.
“I said this on the sideline: ‘I think [Justin Tucker] is … I said this to some of the guys earlier; I said, ‘I think this is normal for kickers, but we've just been so blessed by Tucker's eliteness that we kind of take it for granted,'” Humphrey told reporters. “We used to sit down there on the [sidelines], and when he goes up there, you know it's going in. But I think great players, they get out of those slumps at the right moment, and I think Tucker is one of those guys. There's not much I know about kicking, but I do know Tucker is a guy to get things turned around.”
Goodness, even defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike got in on the action, letting reporters and the fans reading them know that the team has his back.
“Just be there for him. We all know he's one of the greatest kickers in league history,” Madubuike told reporters. “He's having a tough time right now. He's human. Just be there for him, and don't switch on him.”
With everyone from his head coach to his starting quarterback, plus three Pro Bowl position players still believing in Tucker, maybe fans should handle this situation with a gentler touch, too, as the Texas product has a field goal completion percentage of 89 over his 13-year career and thus, has earned an extended runway to figure things out.
