Things got so ugly Monday night that the Cowboys nearly ran out of kicking balls at Raymond James Stadium. That’s because their first two ended up in the stands after Brett Maher missed so badly on back-to-back extra point attempts.
If the Cowboys had lost their third down, they would have had to use one of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ punts.
“Just kind of a perfect storm of a bad kicking day,” Dallas special teams coordinator John Fassel said.
Fassel has been a special teams coach in the NFL since 2005. He’s never been with a team that has to turn to their third down. He also never experienced a kick to miss four straight extra point attempts.
Fassel believes Maher was going through the yips, a term often used in sports to describe a sudden and unexplained loss of skill. It’s happened to him with previous kicks, notably the likes of Sebastian Janikowski and Greg Zuerlein.
“I believe in the hot hand and I believe in the yips,” Fassel said. “Absolutely. Sometimes you wonder how you get into the yips, and sometimes you wonder how you get back into the hot hand. And I think it’s strengthening the line and shooting. (Maher) missed a couple of free throws (Monday night).
“I don’t know what it is, but I believe in the yips and I believe in the hot hand. He had a hot hand. Let’s face it. … And then the yiips happen. So I expect him to have a hot hand.”
Maher made 50 of his 53 extra points on the season. He was 29 of 32 on his field goal attempts, which included going 9 of 11 from over 50 yards. For his career, Maher is 128 of 134 on extra point attempts.
But Monday night was anxious. In his third career playoff game, Maher missed his first four extra points before finally making his fifth. Fortunately for him and the Cowboys, the game was never close enough for a few points to make the difference. Dallas advanced to the divisional round with a convincing 31-14 wild card win over the Buccaneers.
“I definitely didn’t do my part (Monday night),” Maher said. “This team is too good going forward for me not to, so get back to it this week.”
The Cowboys plan to have Maher remain their starting player Sunday in San Francisco.
“Hell yeah,” Fassel said. “If you ask me, absolutely.”
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday morning that they will “look into” their kicking situation. He also said it’s possible that Maher’s kicking could affect Dallas playing with two after touchdowns more often.
“It would be a really big setback to go into the rest of this tournament, the rest of this playoff, with instability at kicker,” Jones said during his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said after the game that the plan is to stick with Maher.
“We’re going to move forward,” McCarthy said Tuesday. “As of right now, that’s the plan.”
“At the end of the day, we all have a job to do,” McCarthy added. “He knows he has to put the ball through the posts. And he’s been super productive and consistent for us. It’s like everything, we all work with each other every day and that’s what I believe in and believe in him and his way.
“I think in this business, especially in this game, you learn more from your experience when it doesn’t go your way as opposed to its success. As well as our entire football team. We came out of Washington and were punched in the jaw, and I think we responded clearly. I think he definitely carries that in him.”
Brett Maher missed three extra points all season before missing four against Tampa Bay. (Kim Clement/USA Today)
Maher, 33, has bounced around the NFL for the past decade. This is his third time with the Cowboys. He signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2013, but was released before the season started. After spending the next four years in the Canadian Football League, Maher was the Cowboys’ kicker during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Accuracy issues led to Dallas releasing him toward the end of the 2019 season. For the next two years, Maher kicked for the Jets, Washington, Texas , Cardinals and Saints. He returned to the Cowboys in August during training camp after Dallas released undrafted rookie Jonathan Garibay. Maher then defeated Lirim Khairullahu for the post.
“I talked to Brett (Tuesday morning),” Fassel said. “We had a great conversation about (Monday night) because I think the most important thing for us is to not pretend it didn’t happen and just move on. We looked at it from a “what happened” perspective, mentally and physically. We talked about our plan this week. So we will continue with a normal plan.
“He was confused and so was I. I share all the agony of the players. So as it should be as a competitor. He knows it’s just a bad day at the office. I have every confidence that he will recover. Yes, it’s partly psychological for sure. I don’t think there is anything physical. The first two, if you asked him, he was a bit lazy on the finish of the first one and kind of on the toe on the second one. Then he just readjusts the third one. And then the fourth is just kind of a mental process.
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After Maher’s third pass, ESPN’s telecast showed a visibly frustrated Cowboys QB Dak Prescott slamming his helmet on the sideline and saying “Go for f– two!”
Prescott said he spoke to Maher after the game about his emotional reaction.
“I’m ‘Money’ Maher’s biggest fan,” Prescott said. “Obviously (they) showed me the video, it’s just emotions, it’s part of everything. I spoke to him individually, I just told him after the game to leave it at that, we’re going to need him. I just played like… a week ago, I mean, this is happening. But when you believe in each other, you believe in what we’re capable of doing and knowing what this guy has done, with the resilience he’s shown throughout his career personally, I have no doubt that he’ll be back next week and he’ll be perfect and help us win.”
Prescott was not alone. Several teammates and coaches shared their support after the game.
“I feel very fortunate to have the teammates, locker room and coaching staff that I have,” Maher said. “It absolutely lifted me up. I appreciate each and every one of them. It’s time for me to do my part.”
Fassel noted that where the Cowboys will play Sunday isn’t exactly the most kicking-friendly environment. Levy Stadium is an open venue with a grass field and wind can be a factor. 49ers kicker Robbie Gould is 30 of 31 kicking extra points there this season. Maher has never played at Levy Stadium.
“Get back to it,” Maher said of his process this week. “Hit some balls, I’ve had a great week of training, get ready for work.”
(Top photo by Brett Maher: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
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