Ravens’ Justin Tucker is still the GOAT after missed field goal in Week 12

The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in agonizing fashion in Week 12 on a missed field goal attempt. Make no mistake, though, kicker Justin Tucker is still the greatest of all time.

In Week 12, Tucker went 4-of-5 on his field goal attempts and completed his lone extra point attempt. His most climactic moment came at the end of the game as he prepared to take a 67-yarder, potentially setting a new record for the longest ever completed field goal in NFL history.

Fans will fondly remember that Tucker set the current record, 66 yards, a little over a year ago in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions. The opera singer had a chance to beat himself on Sunday but came agonizingly short.

Yet the fact that there was even a glimmer of hope for the Ravens in the final seconds of the game just goes to show Tucker remains the GOAT, even after the miss.

Ravens relied too much on Justin Tucker in Week 12 defeat

Tucker has already cemented his legacy as the greatest kicker of all time, and one ridiculously far missed field goal does not in any way change that fact.

On one of his good days, Tucker may very well have shot that ball straight through the uprights. After the game, Tucker told reporters that missing the game-winning field goal was “heartbreaking [and] disappointing, especially when it’s a kick that I know I have the ability to make.”

The Ravens knew they could always fall back on Tucker’s usually automatic leg, and for three quarters of the game, it was the Justin Tucker show. Baltimore failed to score a touchdown on four drives, and Tucker stepped up to nab the easy 12 points.

Tucker holds a 91.1 percent field goal completion rate, and prior to Week 12, he missed one field goal this season. He was considered the most clutch kicker in history with a 100 percent field goal completion rate in the final minute of regulation, and his miss on Sunday will indeed stain his pristine reputation.

Just as one record-breaking field goal doesn’t define his career, one missed field goal doesn’t either, and Tucker firmly remains the most reliable kicker in the league.

In hindsight, the missed field goal didn’t lose the game for Baltimore — the Ravens needed to figure out how to capitalize on their offensive drives earlier since they kept the Jaguars in the game until the very end. Not to mention the supposedly new and improved defense allowed 18 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Hopefully, Baltimore won’t need Tucker so much for the rest of the season. If his number is called, expect Tucker to deliver as he always has in the past.