Head Coach John Harbaugh reiterated his confidence in Justin Tucker on Monday, believing the seven-time Pro Bowler will return to top form.
Tucker missed field goals from 47 and 50 yards Sunday during the Ravens' 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That gives Tucker six missed field goals in 2024, more than he had all last season and tied for the second-most misses of his 13-year career. He's missed all of them, including an extra point, wide left.
Tucker bounced back to nail a 54-yarder on his final attempt against Pittsburgh, and Harbaugh expects that form to be the norm down the stretch.
"That's the Justin Tucker that he wants to see, we all want to see, on every kick," Harbaugh said. "He's definitely our best option and he's going to make a lot of kicks. I really believe that going forward. But it's up to him and the guys he works with every day, to make those balls go straight.
"He's going to get it figured out. We have coaches. We have technique, we look at the tape, he's practicing well. He's got to kick it straight."
When asked about the possibility of bringing in a tryout kicker to compete for the job, Harbaugh dismissed the notion.
"At this point, no, there's no thought to that," Harbaugh said. "You'd have to find that competition first if you're going to be blunt about it. Where is that competition?
"The best option right now is to get Justin back on point. He's fully capable of doing it. We certainly haven't lost any confidence in Justin Tucker. You saw that on the 54-yarder we sent him out for, and he drilled it."
Ravens Have Regrets on Failed Two-Point Conversion Call
The Ravens' comeback effort against Pittsburgh fell short when a two-point conversion attempt failed with just over a minute to play. A designed run to the left by Lamar Jackson was blown up by Pittsburgh's defense, and Jackson floated a desperation pass that was incomplete in a last-ditch effort to save the play.
The outcome of the play obviously wasn't what the Ravens wanted.
"It didn't work," Harbaugh said. "Anytime you have a play that didn't work, you look at it very critically. We're disappointed in that play. You want to have a better play up there, a better play call, a better executed play, everything along those lines.
"Especially when you lose, and especially when it's an opportunity to tie the game at the end after a long hard-fought game like that, you've got to look at those plays really hard. That's one we'd like to have back, just across the board."
Running back Derrick Henry wasn't on the field for the play, which came after the Steelers called a last-second timeout that halted what looked to be a Jackson run to the right. Henry, who leads the NFL with 13 rushing touchdowns, also wasn't on the field for that play.
"Derrick Henry's a great football player and you want him out there, but he's not out there for every play. That's the play that was called. That's the personnel group that was set up through a lot of game-planning," Harbaugh said.
"Coaches, they're in early and they're home late. We all try to put the best plan we can together. When it doesn't work out, it hurts. You feel disappointed about it because it's your job. Every player is not on the field for every play. I'd like to have had a better play there. I'd like to have had a successful play."
Tre'Davious White's Role Will Expand
New cornerback Tre'Davious White played 24 snaps in his Ravens debut in Pittsburgh and earned one of the team’s highest grades after breaking up two passes to the end zone for George Pickens.
Harbaugh said he thought White "had a really good game."
"He's a nice piece for us back there; a great addition," Harbaugh said. "I'm looking forward to his continuing role and his expanding role."
White said he was mostly "sprinkled in" on plays where "I didn't have to do too much thinking." He's still picking up the Ravens' complex defense after being traded at the deadline, and Baltimore didn't want to have any communication errors in Pittsburgh, especially with the Steelers offense getting on the ball pretty fast.
With "Monday Night Football" in against the Chargers on deck, White said he plans to use the longer week to dig even further into the playbook.
White hadn't played a game since Sept. 29 with the Los Angeles Rams, but he felt good about his chances against Pickens and the Steelers.
"I'm always a confident player. Early in the year, I had guys covered like blankets, and the quarterbacks don't throw the ball," White said.
"I think that a lot of people write things, but you've got to watch the whole tape. My confidence never wavered, because I know what type of player I am and the type of work that I put into my craft, and I love this game so much, and I love to compete. So it's just a point of getting to a situation where I can let my light shine."
Health Updates on Roquan Smith, Arthur Maulet
With a big game against the Chargers and brother Jim Harbaugh up next, John Harbaugh was not sharing much info regarding injuries.
He said he had no update on the status of Roquan Smith, who was ruled out in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury, or rookie safety Sanoussi Kane, who went down late in the game.
"Really, no injury updates right now," Harbaugh said. "There are MRIs today and things like that, so we'll see where we're at after all the information comes in."
Nickel cornerback Arthur Maulet was ruled out of the Steelers game after suffering a calf injury last week. Maulet has already been on injured reserve once this season (knee), but it looks like he'll avoid a second trip.
"I don't anticipate that one being Injured Reserve, at this point, so we'll just have to see how it heals," Harbaugh said.
