Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed a 51-yard field goal Sunday -- a notable miss in a 33-30 overtime loss -- when his plant foot slid out from under him on the M&T Bank Stadium turf.
It was a yet another time when his home field proved to be unkind to him.
Of Tucker's 13 career misses, an astounding 10 have come at M&T Bank Stadium. Tucker is 48 of 58 (82.8 percent) in Baltimore, and he's 60 of 63 on the road (95.2 percent).
Tucker's success rate at home ranks 32nd among kickers since 2012, his first season in the NFL. That's quite a home-field disadvantage for the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history.
“I think the fact of the matter is you can’t overanalyze these things, especially in my position,” Tucker said. “It’s a tough stadium to kick in. I’m thankful to be part of an operation that I think is and can be and will continue to work to be the best in the league. And I’m glad we’re here in Baltimore doing it.”
Tucker said before the season that M&T Bank Stadium was the toughest place to kick, and that's being backed up in the numbers. It was only earlier this month that Tucker nailed a 52-yard game winner at Heinz Field, which typically has the reputation for being the most challenging venue for kickers.
"We know our stadium well; we love kicking in our own stadium," special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said earlier this season. "Having said that, we also know that the winds swirl in our stadium, like they do in a lot of stadiums."
Since 2012, Tucker's first season, opposing kickers have converted 88.1 percent of their field goals (52 of 59) at M&T Bank Stadium.
“This is a tough place to kick,” said Tucker, who has connected on his last 16 field-goal attempts on the road. “The wind can get moving a little bit. It gets cold. We’ll get rain. We’re battling the elements each and every week.”