WATCH: Justin Tucker left speechless after record-setting field goal
Former Texas kicker and NFL star Justin Tucker is no stranger to big moments or big kicks. He combined both on Sunday afternoon with an NFL record-setting 66-yard kick to lift the Baltimore Ravens to a 19-16 win over the Detroit Lions at the buzzer.
The Ravens, who entered the game with a 1-1 record, were playing the winless Detroit Lions on the road. For quite some time, it looked like a game in which the heavy favorite might lose. After the Lions converted on a fourth-quarter touchdown followed by a field goal, the Ravens found themselves losing, 17-16, and they called on Tucker to make history on the final drive.
Tucker had missed one of four field goal attempts entering the fourth quarter, and the 66-yard attempt was two yards longer than Matt Prater’s previous record, a 64-yard boot.
“That one was something else,” Tucker told CBS’ A.J. Ross during his postgame interview. “I don’t really have the words to do justice to the moment.”
After thanking his teammates who set up the moment, Tucker continued: “All I can say is trust, trust God, trust this team. We’ve got something special. We’ve known that, we’ve been knowing that and I’m just so happy to be able to come through for my guys.”
With the record-setting kick, Justin Tucker did more than just break an NFL record for distance. He also solidified himself as the most clutch kicker in NFL history, as he now boasts a perfect 16-of-16 track record on field goals in the final minute of regulation.
More about Justin Tucker
In his time with the Longhorns, Justin Tucker played as both a punter and kicker. He averaged 40.5 yards per punt, punting 155 times over his four-year career. He also made 71-of-71 extra point attempts and was 40-of-48 on field goal attempts. Tucker went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft but signed with the Ravens, where he has played ever since.
Justin Tucker has already put together a borderline Hall of Fame career before the record-setting kick. The Westlake, Texas native has won a Super Bowl, been named to six All-Pro teams — four first-team All-Pro teams and two second-team All-Pro teams — and is the most accurate kicker in NFL history, with a field goal percentage just north of 90. He is 294-for-324 on career field goal attempts, and he has missed just four point-after attempts in 360 tries over his career.