Tucker's 61-yard field goal sinks host Lions, 18-16
DETROIT — Justin Tucker had already kicked five field goals, but this one would be an entirely different matter.
A 61-yarder? With the game on the line?
“He said, `I got it,”' Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said.
Tucker lived up to his word, making an improbable kick from the Lions' logo at midfield to lift the Ravens to an 18-16 victory over Detroit on Monday night. Tucker's 61-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining helped Baltimore pull within a game of first-place Cincinnati in the AFC North.
Tucker said he'd made one from farther before the game.
“I backed up in pregame to 70 and I doinked one off the crossbar,” he said. “I almost broke one of those like $50,000 cameras that's on the goalposts.”
Baltimore (8-6) is even with Miami in the race for the last wild card in the AFC. Detroit (7-7) fell to third place in the NFC North and needs Chicago and Green Bay each to lose at least once over the final two weeks of the season. Otherwise, the Lions will miss out on a postseason berth that once seemed theirs for the taking.
“Our emotions aren't important right now. We have two games to play, we're one down in our division,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “So I think that's the most important thing for us to keep in mind at this point. This was a setback, no question.”
Here are five things to know about Baltimore's tense victory at Detroit:
The Baltimore kicker was already having a terrific day — and a great season — before his kick in the final minute gave the Ravens the victory. Tucker has made 33 field goals in a row, the NFL's longest streak since Matt Stover made 36 in a row for the Ravens from 2005-06, according to STATS.
The 61-yarder didn't clear the crossbar by much, and it almost went wide right.
“I had no doubt that he was going to make it,” Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith said. “I actually played against Tuck in college, and I watched him in warmups kick 65-yard field goals like it was nothing. So when he was out there, I knew we were going to make it.”
If the Lions do miss the playoffs, there will be plenty of questions about Stafford, who has turned the ball over 12 times in the last five games.
Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions Monday, although in fairness, he was also victimized by some dropped passes. Even star receiver Calvin Johnson dropped two big passes in the first half on his way to a pedestrian day by his standards: six catches for 98 yards.
