Dallas Cowboys kicker, Brett Maher, missed four of his first five extra point attempts en route to their Wild Card victory.
Although the coaching staff has been relatively silent about his performance after this game, yesterday, we finally heard an update.
Cowboys ST coordinator John Fassel said kicker Brett Maher was “distraught” about his four missed field goals. Added it was more psychological than physical. They met and discussed outing today. “I think the biggest thing for us is not to pretend it didn’t happen and move on.” pic.twitter.com/DgTdSGONAZ
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 17, 2023
John Fassel is the Cowboys’ special teams coordinator, and chalked up Maher’s missed field goals to a mental battle, not physical.
Playoff games are certainly a stressful time, especially for kickers.
From a historical lens, so many playoff games in the past have been decided by kicks, made or missed.
Maher had a great regular season, making 90.6% of his field goals, and 94.3% of his extra points.
With any luck, Maher will be able to shake it off next week against an incredibly difficult opponent.
The Cowboys are facing off against the San Francisco 49ers, and, because they have one of the league’s best defenses, points will be difficult to come by.
In the playoffs, every point counts, even against a team like the 49ers who are starting a rookie quarterback.
The 49ers’ defense is allowing just 16.7 points per game on the year, although they have allowed an average of 23.3 points in their last three games.
If Maher misses even one kick in this game, that could be the difference between the Cowboys moving on to the NFC Championship, and then heading back to Dallas to prepare for the 2023 season.
Dallas’ offense has been incredibly potent on the season, averaging 27.7 points per game.
Will Maher be able to turn it around this week?
