What Pundits Are Saying About Justin Tucker
Justin Tucker's troublesome season continued Sunday after he missed two field goals and an extra point. After the game, pundits are commenting on Tucker and what he and the Ravens can do.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook: "Football is about much more than a kicker, but the Ravens' most glaring issue is currently their boot. Justin Tucker's struggles have been documented consistently throughout the 2024 season, yet Sunday felt like a new low for him. He missed two field goals and an extra point -- seven possible points for you math wizards -- in what was ultimately a five-point loss, and judging by his body language, even he is lost for answers right now."
Next Gen Stats Insight from Eagles-Ravens: The Ravens lost -28.4% in win probability across Justin Tucker's missed kicks Sunday (missed from 47, 53 and an extra point).
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm: "Tucker started the season shakily, seemed to steady himself around midseason but has since fallen back. His struggles reemerged during an 18-16 loss to the Steelers in Week 11, during which he missed two kicks in the loss. Most of Tucker's misses have been from 50 yards and longer, but he's now missed two shorter kicks the past weeks."
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley: "Tucker has gone from the most accurate kicker in NFL history to one of the team's biggest question marks. He continued his season-long struggles by missing two field goals (from 47 and 53 yards) and an extra point. His two failed field goals came in the third quarter when Baltimore trailed 14-12. This was the first time he has missed three kicks in a game, and he put a major dent in the Ravens' opportunity to win the AFC North."
The Baltimore Sun’s C.J. Doon: "And we have to address the elephant in the room that is Justin Tucker. The Ravens' special teams edge has long been a given under coach John Harbaugh, but now it's a legitimate weakness. The margin for error in these elite matchups is small, and the Ravens are struggling to overcome their mistakes."
The Baltimore Banner's Kyle Goon: "We are only now realizing how good the Baltimore Ravens had it. Only now that Justin Tucker is experiencing the roughest stretch of his career — a career that still ranks among the all-time greatest kickers in NFL history — can we truly appreciate how much the absence of his greatness hurts. Kicks used to feel automatic when he trotted out on the field. Now they're one of the most anxiety-inducing aspects of watching Ravens games. Even though Tucker is the greatest scorer in Ravens history, this bye week, Baltimore needs to bring in someone who can credibly compete for his job. … Trust me — even imagining Tucker losing his job curdles my insides. It feels wrong on an elemental level. More than any one person, he has personified special teams excellence for this franchise."
The Baltimore Banner's Jonas Shaffer: "The Ravens won't like heading into their bye on a downer, but at least they'll have the time to exhaust every single possible recourse for figuring out their kicking situation. And, yes, that includes bringing in kickers to push, if not replace, the legendary Justin Tucker. The Ravens' five-point margin of defeat didn't exactly reflect a one-sided second half, but the deficit comes into starker relief once you realize what Tucker left on the board: two field goals and an extra point. The Ravens sure could've used those points late. But then, we've been saying that about a lot of missed Tucker kicks this season."
Defense Delivers Another Encouraging Performance
Perhaps the biggest positive to come from the Ravens' 24-19 loss to the Eagles was the performance of the Ravens defense.
For more than three quarters, the Ravens' defense largely held the Eagles in check. On the first eight Eagles drives, the Baltimore defense forced four three-and-outs and six punts.
"The Ravens held the Eagles' No. 3-ranked offense to 252 yards, their second-lowest total of the season," Pressbox’s Bo Smolka wrote. "Their league-leading running game finished with 140 yards — 53 below their season average. … For the second straight week, the Ravens did not allow a pass play of more than 20 yards; in the first 11 games, they had allowed 50 such plays, the second-highest total in the league."
Over the past three weeks, the defense has found its footing as their 165 passing yards allowed over the past three games is No. 1 in the NFL. The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker writes "coordinator Zach Orr's defense has played well enough to win" the past three games.
"The results, while far from 2023-level dominance, have improved. The Eagles came in averaging 5.9 yards per play; against the Ravens, they averaged 4.7. A.J. Brown, one of the league's true No. 1 wide receivers, didn't catch a pass longer than 15 yards," Walker wrote. "Philadelphia had to grind for almost everything, going three-and-out four times."
Ravens' Offense Struggled to Play a 'Complete Game'
In a close contest against a stalwart Eagles offense, the Ravens' offense finished with more first downs (24-17), more third-down conversions (6-4), 120 more yards, and won the time of possession battle by more than seven minutes.
But with three drives falling short in the red zone, the Ravens missed out on the points to win on the scoreboard. The result has The Baltimore Banner's Giana Han believing the Ravens need to "learn to finish."
"The Ravens offense out-gained the Eagles and had more first downs. Yet it wasn't enough. They sputtered over and over after making their way into Eagles territory, and special teams didn't help them out," Han wrote. "While the defense could have made a few more stops, they weren't the main issue in this one. In other games, the defensive performance would have been enough. The Ravens inability to play a complete game remains a common theme."
The Ravens entered this week as the best touchdown-scoring red zone team in the NFL (75%). Over the course of the season, finishing drives hasn't been their issue. But in the past three games, they've dropped to 66% touchdown rate in the same category. In this game, The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec notes not finishing those drives was the difference.
"Offensively, the Ravens have struggled to put a complete game together. Sunday, they didn't finish drives often enough," Zrebiec wrote. "That was exemplified by their having the ball for 12 minutes in the third quarter and not scoring a single point. Jackson completed 23 of 36 passing attempts for 237 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and Baltimore rushed for 166 yards as a team. Yet, that amounted to just 19 points, and seven of those were scored when the game had been decided."
