On Monday night, the Ravens scored no touchdowns in Detroit. But Justin Tucker delivered six field goals, including a 61-yard field game winner that looked like it was going to fade to the right before straightening out and falling over the upright.
Not surprisingly, the effort gave Tucker the AFC special-teams player of the week award.
For the year, Tucker has converted on 33 straight field-goal attempts. His performance has caught the attention of former Redskins kicker Mark Moseley, the only kicker to ever win the NFL’s MVP award by making 20 of 21 straight-on field goals during the nine-game, strike-shortened season of 1982.
“In 1982 and ’83, I didn’t think I could miss,” Moseley told Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com. “That’s where [Tucker] is now. I was really kind of surprised [Monday] night that they couldn’t get in the end zone. But that’s where a good kicker comes in. If you have a good defense and a good kicker, you can stay in games. That’s why George Allen brought me to Washington.”
Tucker has become so reliable that there’s a danger the Ravens may get too cautious and conservative once they get in range for the kind of field goal that used to be considered hard to make but that with Tucker has become automatic. As long as Tucker doesn’t cool off, it may not matter.