The Ravens' first three wins of the season all came off game-winning field goals by Justin Tucker.
The reliable kicker had a chance to give the Ravens their fifth win of the season Sunday in Miami, but his 55-yard go-ahead field goal attempt sailed wide right with two minutes, 47 seconds left. He didn't get another chance to redeem himself, and the Ravens fell to 4-8 on the year after the 15-13 defeat.
"I actually felt like I hit it perfectly, and it just didn't go through," Tucker said. "It's frustrating, but the only thing you can do is move on and hope you get another opportunity real quick. Unfortunately, we didn't. It just happens sometimes."
Tucker had the chance to put the Ravens ahead after a forced fumble by safety Kendrick Lewis on the previous possession. The turnover, which was recovered by outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, gave the Ravens the football with starting field position on Miami's 41-yard line.
The offense moved the ball four yards in three the three plays before Tucker trotted out for the attempt. The field was damp after off-and-on rain throughout the game and the wind was gusty at times, but the Ravens opted to give Tucker a chance to win it. The kick started toward the left upright, but gradually sailed wide right as it headed toward the end zone.
"If we would have been a yard closer, it might have gone through, but we're not into hypotheticals," Tucker said. "We're into reality football, and it definitely sucks. But the only thing you can do is bounce back like we've done before."
Tucker, who earlier in the game became the fastest kicker (60 games) in NFL history to reach 500 career points, has been lights out at the end of the games in high-pressure situations. He has 10 game-winning field goals in his first four seasons.
But he has also struggled from long range earlier this season, and Sunday's miss was the sixth field goal he has missed beyond 50 yards. Tucker is now 2-of-8 on field goals of at least 50 yards.
Head Coach John Harbaugh has previously said that Tucker's issues from beyond 50 have been the result of his mechanics getting out of whack, but Tucker didn't think that was the case this time.
"That particular kick from 55, I felt like I got all my studs in the ground, my swing was clean, the ball came off exactly how I would have wanted it to," he said. "But for some reason, something I can't point to, it just didn't go through."
The close loss continued a trend of every game being decided by one score, and the Ravens extended their NFL record of all 12 games being decided by eight points or less.
They have had a chance to come away with a late victory in all eight of their losses, and Tucker stressed the importance of bouncing back in future weeks.
"We're not about morale victories in any way. We want to get real victories, and we were close there at the end. But this one definitely stings; they all have this year," Tucker said. "This is a team that's been in a lot of dog fights this year. I don't see anybody in this room that's ever going to back down."
