With two field goals in the first quarter, Justin Tucker’s future is suddenly cloudy in Baltimore

When the end comes for a kicker, it comes quickly. The Ravens’ Justin Tucker, the best kicker in NFL history, may or may not be ready… but he’s missing a lot of field goals he used to make. And that causes real problems for a Baltimore team with Super Bowl aspirations.

In the first quarter of Sunday’s crucial divisional game at Pittsburgh, Tucker missed field goals of 47 and 50 yards, kicks that should have been well within his reach. For his career, he is 119 of 133 on punts from 40 to 49 yards, and 60 of 90 on punts from 50 to 59 yards. For his career, he’s making field goals at an 89.7 percent rate…at least, next Sunday.

So far this season, Tucker has missed six of his 21 field goal attempts. Against Las Vegas earlier this year, he missed a 56-yarder that would prove crucial in the Ravens’ 26-23 loss. He missed a 50-yarder early in the fourth quarter of Baltimore’s 29-24 loss to Cleveland, which would have changed the Ravens’ entire late-game strategy.

Tucker has made 22 field goals in his career, most notably the 66-yarder on September 26, 2021, to beat the Detroit Lions. He has earned the right to endure struggle. The question for Baltimore and head coach John Harbaugh now is: Is this just a struggle… or is this Tucker’s new normal?