When Justin Tucker stood in front of his locker Wednesday with a gaggle of reporters surrounding him, the first question was a simple one.
“I’m fine. I’m really good,” Tucker said. “I appreciate you checking in. But it’s also kind of unimportant how I feel. What’s important is how I perform.”
As Tucker tries to pull out the most difficult slump of his illustrious career, he’s approaching the task like he approaches each kick – with his head down, locked in on every detail of doing the job of splitting the uprights.
Tucker has missed six field goals, including two last week against the Steelers, and an extra point this season. His 72.7 field goal percentage is by far the lowest of his 13-year career and the fifth lowest in the league.
He’s missed all of his kicks wide left. That led him to aim further right in Pittsburgh on his final attempt, which helped him drill a 54-yard boot. But Tucker would rather just start kicking the ball straight again.
“The adjustment is pretty clear,” Tucker said. “I just need to make it a point not to let the ball carry to the left. So that’s something that we’re going to continue working on in practice.”
While fans are puzzled about how the GOAT could go through such struggles, they can rest assured that nobody is taking the misses harder than Tucker.
“Believe me when I say nobody takes it more personally than I do, nobody is more affected than me when I miss the kick,” Tucker said. “At the exact same time, my particular line of work requires in my opinion that I compartmentalize my feelings.
“My only option is to continue to work, focus on the action, focus on the process, and let the results take care of themselves after putting in the work.”