Just when the Detroit Lions thought they had finally earned their first win of the season, Justin Tucker and the Baltimore Ravens broke their hearts. The Lions found themselves up 17-16 after Ryan Santoso hit a 35-yard field goal with just over a minute left to play in the fourth quarter.
However, Baltimore pulled off an epic comeback in the most dramatic fashion. On 4th-and-19 with 26 seconds left to play, Lamar Jackson converted a 36-yard pass to Sammy Watkins to set up Tucker’s history-making field goal attempt.
Despite the NFL record being a 64-yard field goal that was hit by Matt Prater back in 2013, the Ravens attempted to win the game by sending out Tucker to try a 66-yard field goal. With time expiring on the clock, Tucker’s kick bounced off the crossbar and through the uprights to give the Ravens a 19-17 victory.
“Thankfully, we found an extra yard-and-a-half that I didn’t have three hours before,” said Tucker following the game, via ESPN. “I’m grateful for that.”
Tucker had been practicing 65-yard field goal attempts prior to the game, but had come up short every time. He still had the confidence of his head coach John Harbaugh though, who placed the entire game on his kicker’s foot.
“He’s the best kicker in history,” Harbaugh told the media after the win. “When you have a kicker like that, you want to give him an opportunity like that. For him to come through like that is just historic.”
Tucker’s previous career-long field goal was 61 yards, which he also hit at Ford Field against the Lions eight years ago.
“I love Detroit,” Tucker said jokingly. “I think I’m going to buy a place here.”
The most accurate kicker in NFL history has spent his entire career with the Ravens in Baltimore, after going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft. He has made 291 field goals from an attempted 321, for an average of 90.7%. He has been named to the Pro Bowl on four separate occasions and helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl in his first season with the organization.
“I’m looking and see how many yards it is. I’m like, ‘Dang, this is different right here. I’ve never seen him in this predicament,'” Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “I was hoping to get him closer. It was like, ‘If we get enough air, he’s going to make it.’ He came through.”
Baltimore now find themselves 2-1 on the season, having won consecutive games after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders in the opening game of the campaign. They look to make it three in a row when they travel to Denver in week four to take on the undefeated Broncos at Empower Field.
Unfortunately for fans of the Lions, it seems to be more of the same as they continue to search for their first win of the campaign. They played well against a very good Ravens team, but ultimately came up short like we’ve seen on so many previous occasions. They now sit at 0-3 as they get set to play the Chicago Bears next weekend at Soldier Field.
