More than 43 years passed before an NFL kicker nailed a field goal longer than Tom Dempsey’s 63-yard game winner for the Saints against the Lions. Matt Prater’s new mark of 64 yards may not last 43 days.
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, whose six field goals on Monday night included a last-minute 61-yard effort on which the team’s playoffs hope largely hinged, thinks he can extend the current record by another 18 feet.
“If I pulled out the eight-degree driver -- on a day when I’m feeling real fresh -- I could probably hit one from 70 yards,” Tucker told Jim Corbett of USA Today. “I hit one from 70 yards in pregame in Detroit this past Monday night.”
Tucker also said he made one from 79 yards earlier this year.
“That was in Denver before our opener in September,” Tucker said. “The weather was perfect; the field was good. With the altitude in the Rocky Mountains, the ball jumps off your foot.”
In only his second season, Tucker has become one of the most reliable kickers in league history, making all 33 field goal attempts in 2013. He gives the Ravens a powerful weapon for converting field position into points.
The only risk is that the Ravens could get too conservative on offense once they get within Tucker’s ever-expanding range.