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It was the only way for M & T Bank Stadium not to think that the match could end.
Two hundred and forty-five times during his regular season and playoff career in the NFL, Justin Tucker was lined up to score an extra point. And 245 times, he hit the ball by the amounts.
Tucker felt that he was really struck. The ball would split the sticks and the Ravens would be tied 24-24 with a chance to survive the New Orleans Saints in overtime.
Then, to his horror, Tucker saw the kick turn into the swirling wind.
As Saints' players began to wave their arms in triumph, it took the 70,639 spectators in the stands – and many of Tucker's teammates – another second to understand what had happened.
The best kicker in the NFL had missed. And seconds later, the Ravens lost 24-23.
"You play long enough, you're going to have a kick that you want to recover," said Tucker afterwards. "And tonight was this night for me."
In a league assaulted by unreliable kicks, Tucker is a rock for his franchise, a rare weapon appreciated around the NFL. Her Sunday lady has felt so remarkable because the fans and her teammates are taking her excellence for granted.
In the lost locker room, a parade of Ravens – from Marshal Yanda's guard to quarterback Joe Flacco – approached Tucker to remind him of all the games he had won and affirm his confidence in every move he made. would win.
"It will come out very well," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. "Justin is the best – he's the best in the industry in what he does. He will be back next week to win games for us. I am very sure of that. "
Tucker has no technical explanation, yet. "I had the impression that when the ball fell off my foot, I hit it the way I wanted it," he said.
The wind was treacherous. Earlier in the game, Tucker openly attempted a field placement attempt of 31 yards, only to watch him wobble back and forth while he was barely standing upright. No excuses, though.
"I can not tell you exactly what happened, but at the end of the day, I felt we had cost the game," he said.
Tucker's Miss has surprisingly ended a tense confrontation between one of the NFL's best offenses and one of its best defenses. The Ravens built a 17-7 lead in the third quarter, but watched the talented quarterback Saints Drew Brees lead his team to 17 unanswered points in the fourth.
Flacco made one last reply in the final two minutes, completing six consecutive passes to move the Ravens 81 yards and into the end zone on a 14-yard affair with John Brown (who had 134 yards in seven assists).
If Tucker had scored his extra point, the Ravens would have needed to keep the Saints without scoring for 24 seconds for the match to end. It was not safe considering the way Brees was entering. He made several miraculous shots in the area, when Raven defenders seemed to have it in their hands.
The Ravens got the best defense in the league and a long series of attempts to keep their opponents without a touchdown in the second half. But they had not imposed their will on a crime as powerful as this one. And although they played for three quarters, it is possible that no defense could block the Saints 5-1 for 60 minutes.
Given the fight between the contenders, Tucker's teammates said that a man should not bring as much blame to the final result.
"We could have played better in defense and out of the field in third-to-bottom situations," said Eric Weddle, head of security. "We could have made them lose less points and obviously our attack could have played better. He's never a guy.
Tucker was keen to attend the post-match press conference to deal with issues of one of his lowest nights as a professional. Sam Koch, its owner, and Morgan Cox, his long horn, watched the scene from the back of the room. They form a team within a team – the so-called "Wolfpack".
Koch said he saw what everyone had done since the position of the owner.
"It was a great game. We lowered the ball with the laces and, when I looked up, the ball was turning right, "he recalls. "It looked like it started right in the middle, then took a gust of wind and started to fade to the right."
Koch and Cox love to gently mock Tucker for his extroverted and hyper-confident personality. But Koch said that the very nature would help his friend to bear this disappointment.
"I would only like to have some of his enthusiasm and his state of mind to go through all these things," said the punter and holder always discreet.
Tucker smiled when asked when he had his closest colleagues in the room. "I've had great relationships, and those relationships, the guys in the locker room who support me, mean everyone to me," he said.
He added that he "let it hurt for a few more hours," but that he was not planning to change anything as a result of the loss. He has always preached the importance of approaching each kick in the same way, whether in the middle of a summer training or at the end of a playoff game.
"I will watch the game as I always do," he said. "Nothing will change for me, I'll tell you. I will watch the game as I always do, watch the video and do everything I can to compartmentalize what happened tonight and get out of it positively. "
Moments later, a Ravens staff member put a comforting arm on Tucker's shoulder as he took off his shoes. It was a bad night but only one.
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