Ravens Fans Go Bonkers Over Justin Tucker’s Heroic Record-Setting FG

Leading up to the Baltimore Ravens‘ Week 2 matchup against the Detroit Lions, one player was consistently brought up more than any other.

Nope, it wasn’t Lamar Jackson. Instead, it was Justin Tucker, who made six field goals in Detroit during a 2013 regular season game, including a career-long, game-winning 61-yarder as time ran out.

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Tucker one-upped himself on Sunday, hitting an NFL-record 66-yard field goal as time expired to give the Ravens a 19-17 win over the Lions, bringing their record to 2-1 on the season.

The kick had just enough distance, bouncing off the crossbar as the game clock ran out and Tucker’s teammates mobbed him on the field.

Today’s win was Baltimore’s third straight game to come down to the final possession, with the Las Vegas Raiders beating the Ravens in overtime during Week 1 and Lamar Jackson converting a 4th-and-1 to seal a Week 2 upset over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ravens Twitter Explodes After Game-Winning Kick

Needless to say, Ravens fans went ballistic over Tucker’s late game heroics, proclaiming the former Texas Longhorn the greatest kicker of all-time.

It’s tough to disagree, as Tucker now owns the all-time NFL records for both longest field goal and highest field goal make percentage. Today’s 66-yard conversion unseats Matt Prater’s 2013 64-yarder as the longest in league history, a record Tucker has long pursued.

Top Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez, who grew up in Texas where Tucker attended college, tweeted out his support for a fellow Maryland athlete.

Fans showed no mercy in pointing out Tucker’s dominance in Detroit during his career. He’s the only kicker to make two field goals longer than 60 yards, both of which have been game-winners at Ford Field. Video taken from the stands shows disappointment sweep the stadium as the outnumbered Ravens fans in attendance celebrate the victory.

The kick was only made possible by a 4th-and-19 conversion by Jackson, who completed a 36-yard pass to Sammy Watkins to get to Detroit’s 48-yard line, setting up Tucker’s pivotal kick.

The play was Jackson’s second consecutive game-saving fourth down conversion following last week’s 4th-and-1 quarterback keeper to beat the Chiefs.

Analysts Heap Praise on Tucker

NFL analysts were quick to applaud Tucker for not only hitting the game-winning kick, but breaking an NFL record in the process.

Hall of Fame tight end and current Fox Sports radio personality Shannon Sharpe praised Tucker for his ability to deliver in the clutch for the Ravens yet again.

Former NFL linebacker and Fox Sports analyst Emmanual Acho commented on Tucker’s confidence when the pair were teammates at the University of Texas, saying “Justin Tucker has never met a Field Goal he didn’t think he could make.”

Tucker’s kick is even more impressive when taken in context of statistical feats across other sports.

For example, as CBS Sports’ Todd Furman points out, Tucker outgained the entire Chicago Bears offense today with his 66-yard kick, as the Bears finished a 26-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns with only 47 total yards.

Danny Heifetz of The Ringer also noted that Tucker’s 71% career make percentage on field goals longer than 50 yards is higher than LeBron James’s 68% free throw percentage since he joined the Los Angeles Lakers.