Justin Tucker says that he treats every kick the same.
But the field goals that Tucker booted on Sunday were hardly routine considering the circumstances.
Tucker drilled a 38-yard,* *game-tying field goal at the end of regulation, and another 38-yarder in overtime to complete a thrilling comeback and give the Ravens a 16-13 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
After the game, even Tucker had to acknowledge the significance of the kicks, which gave the Ravens a three-game lead in the AFC North and improved them to 9-2 on the season.
"It's pretty sweet," Tucker said with a smile. "Being able to come through like this for everybody in this locker room, everybody in the city of Baltimore, and all the fans that came out here, there were a bunch of them, it's pretty special."
The rookie has just 11 NFL games under his belt, but he's quickly developed the reputation as a clutch kicker regardless of the situation. Sunday's kick was the second game-winning kick of Tucker's young career, as he also booted a game winner in the final seconds in Week 3 against the Patriots.
Tucker has prided himself on clutch kicking since the Ravens brought him into training camp to challenge incumbent Billy Cundiff, and he has lived up to that billing.
"When it comes down to it, this is a job and you just got to do it," Tucker said. "Morgan [Cox] threw back two great snaps, Sam [Koch] gave me two great holds and that makes my job pretty dang easy."
Tucker made all three of his kicks on the day, with the other being a 43-yarder that got the Ravens on the board in the third quarter. He is now 19-of-21 on the season. His only misses came amidst driving rain against the Browns and at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, which is known for having a challenging kicking environment and messy field conditions.
There was little doubt he'd convert on his three kicks Sunday, and Tucker showed no signs that he was caught up in the moment of a game-winning overtime kick.
"We work on stuff like that at practice pretty regularly," Tucker said. "[Kicking Coach] Randy [Brown] and [Special Teams Coordinator] Jerry [Rosburg], Morgan, Sam and myself, so we're prepared for pretty much any situation that can come up during the course of a game."
