For the most part, the first half of Monday night’s playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went great for the Dallas Cowboys. The defense dominated. The offense took a while to get going, but finished the half with touchdowns on three straight possessions. One problem, though, stuck out like a sore thumb — or in this case, a sore big toe. The extra point woes of Dallas kicker, Brett Maher.
Maher missed all three extra points he attempted. On his first attempt, Maher set up on the left hash, trying to work the ball from his right to left. But, in a scenario that any bad golfer can relate to, his attempt to draw or even hook the ball turned into a slice. The result was a kick missed that missed badly to the right.
The PAT, though — Juuuuuuust a bit outside. pic.twitter.com/PRvkfAcCkd
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) January 17, 2023
Things didn’t get any better. After the Cowboys scored again, Maher again set up on the left hash mark, attempting to draw the ball. Again, he didn’t. And while it wasn’t the dramatic slice that we saw on his first attempt, it missed well right.
After Dallas’ third touchdown, Maher went back to the well, lining up his extra point from the left hash. Surely, it could not happen three times. The good news for the Cowboys was that Maher’s third PAT try did not miss wide right? The bad news? Missing left isn’t any better.
Peyton Manning gets up and walks away in disgust as Cowboys kicker Brett Maher misses an XP for the third straight time.
"You've got to be kidding me! Why are we kicking it?! Why are we kicking it?!"🏈😂 #ManningCast pic.twitter.com/m1eSnArw4V
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 17, 2023
The struggles were impossible to ignore. Several in the football world weighed in on Maher’s abysmal half of kicking.
“Aye we gotta check Brett Maher’s phone records at this point. Something is up,” former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III said.
“RT if you’ve made as many extra points as Brett Maher,” noted Scooter Magruder, a popular Youtube personality and frustrated Cowboys fan.
“Maher puts the trick in hat trick” said Rich Eisen of the NFL Network.
“Might need Maher to just hit the showers,” Ty Schmidt of the Pat McAfee Show theorized.
“Feel so bad for Brett Maher. He has had an amazing season and is having a total meltdown in the playoffs.” RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys observed.
Aye we gotta check Brett Maher’s phone records at this point. Something is up.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 17, 2023
RT if you’ve made as many extra points as Brett Maher
— Cameron Magruder (@ScooterMagruder) January 17, 2023
Maher puts the trick in hat trick.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) January 17, 2023
Might need Maher to just hit the showers
— Ty Schmit (@tyschmit) January 17, 2023
Feel so bad for Brett Maher.
He has had an amazing season and is having a total meltdown in the playoffs.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 17, 2023
And if you watched the first half and felt that it was the worst performance you’ve ever seen from a kicker, you’re not wrong. ESPN Stats & Info said that “Brett Maher is the first player in NFL history to miss 3 extra points in a playoff game.”
Brett Maher is the first player in NFL history to miss 3 extra points in a playoff game (@EliasSports).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 17, 2023
And things got no better for Maher in the third quarter. The Cowboys scored a touchdown on their first second half possession. Maher’s extra-point try missed to the right.
Cowboys kicker Brett Maher misses again. That's 0-for-4 on extra point tries tonight. 😬😬😬😬
"Oh my goodness."- Peyton Manning
"Just got the shanks a little bit."- Dan Campbell
Peyton Manning just shakes his head and wants to chuck his football across the room. 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/9l7Zh1MHMd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 17, 2023
[ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter, Photo Credit: ESPN]
