It’s never easy when teams have to part ways with their best players. I imagine it’s even harder when they have to do it mid-season. Come to think about it, I can’t think of many times that’s even been necessary. If a player isn’t playing well, teams can usually just put him on the bench.
That’s not an option for the Baltimore Ravens, who have a growing Justin Tucker problem. When kickers struggle, teams cut them and sign a replacement. After Tucker missed 2-of-4 field goals in a five-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, dropping him to under 71% on the season, and also missed his second extra point of the year, he’s well past the replacement stage of things.
But how do you cut somebody who has meant so much to your team over his 13-year career. A player who was known as the most accurate kicker of all-time before his recent struggles? Somebody who reached 1,744 career points to set an NFL record for the fastest ever in the same game he lost for his team?
A career milestone for Justin Tucker… #RavensFlock https://t.co/WptrpQkD2a pic.twitter.com/KD7hqQqczS
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) December 1, 2024
So far, the answer for the Ravens has been you don’t. “If you’re asking me if we’re going to move on from Justin Tucker, I’m not really planning on doing that right now,” head coach John Harbaugh said after the game. If they want to capitalize on this year’s Super Bowl window, that may need to change.
Tucker’s misses Sunday were both kicks that could have given Baltimore a second-half lead, altering how each team played the rest of the way. He also missed kicks in each of Baltimore’s other four losses, which all came by one score, including two games that were within three points.
If the Ravens lose a playoff game because of a missed field goal by Tucker, they can’t say there weren’t warning signs. What we’ve been seeing from him is a giant siren.
"He's been automatic his entire career. You know Harbaugh still trusts him but it's getting later and later in the year. I think he'll figure it out but it's getting close."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 1, 2024
– Tony Romo after a noisy doink from Justin Tucker. pic.twitter.com/F1jhNUM4BE
That’s why the Ravens simultaneously are sixth place in the AFC at 8-5 and also hold the conference’s third-best Super Bowl odds at +900. They’re good enough to beat anybody. But until they fix their Justin Tucker problem, they’ll be hard to trust in one-score games against the NFL’s best.
Now, for more of our Week 13 betting recap, with odds via BetMGM.
Technically, the three-point spread for Eagles-Ravens was the same for Steelers-Bengals, making them close to equal upsets on the moneyline. But in no world should it be considered an upset for a division leader to beat a team it leads in the standings by five games. The Eagles beating the Ravens on the other hand had the element of one good team beating another at home. That takes the cake here, even if Justin Tucker helped Philly get it done.
Most-bet moneyline underdogs, by ticket count, in NFL Week 13 odds at @BetMGM, per @johnewing:
— Patrick Everson (@PatrickE_Vegas) December 1, 2024
1. Steelers, currently +130 at Bengals
2. Eagles, currently +125 at Ravens
3. Falcons, currently even money vs. Chargers
For awhile, it seemed Trevor Lawrence’s exit on the dirty hit by Aziz Al-Shaair made a Houston cover inevitable. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Houston led 23-6 and Jacksonville couldn’t get anything going offensively. Then, Mac Jones miraculously orchestrated consecutive scoring drives of longer than 70 yards to cut Houston’s lead to three and cover the spread by just a half-point with 3:30 left in the game.
Cookies! @BrianThomas_11 | #HOUvsJAX on FOX pic.twitter.com/2GmwPASYgi
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 1, 2024
I mean, this game was over by the second quarter when Washington jumped out to a 28-0 lead. Tennessee tried to make it interesting by cutting the deficit to 15 in the third quarter, but Washington tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win it 42-19. It’s safe to say the Titans were never really close to covering.
Terry McLaurin is very good at football
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) December 1, 2024
#TENvsWAS CBS pic.twitter.com/T7NnxX6t2K
It required a 19-play, 80-yard drive — which seemed unlikely with the way they had played throughout the game — but Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts were able to snatch the lead from the New England Patriots with just 12 seconds left in regulation. But rather than kick an extra point and send the game to overtime following Richardson’s three-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce on fourth down, the Colts went for two and succeeded to win and stay alive in the playoff race. The late score also robbed under-41 bettors of a push.
COLTS TAKE THE LEAD ON THE 2-PT CONVERSION.
— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
12 SECONDS LEFT.
: #INDvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/gZFuDHjLky
If you bet on the Panthers with the points, congrats, they covered the 6.5-point spread with ease in what turned out to be a back-and-forth game with the Bucs. But if you were on the moneyline, this game was such a tease.
First, the Panthers took a 23-20 lead with just 30 seconds left, only for the Bucs to go 36 yards in six plays and tie the game on a 51-yard field goal as time expired. Then, the Bucs missed a field goal in overtime, allowing Carolina to move the ball into range for a potential game-winning kick after an incredible one-handed catch by Adam Thielen, only for Chubba Hubbard to fumble the ball back to Tampa the next play. Five plays later, Tampa was kicking the walk-off field goal. That’s how Carolina lost.
FUMBLE! IT'S BUCS BALL!
— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024
: #TBvsCAR on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/BqfnAJ9fXq
