Talk about a bad case of the yips.
Brett Maher missed the point-after try after Dallas' first touchdown of the night against the Buccaneers on Monday. He missed another on the team's second touchdown.
Surely, the third time would be the charm, right? Wrong. After the Cowboys scored their third touchdown of the first half against the Buccaneers, Maher missed a third PAT kick.
According to Stathead, Maher set the NFL record for the most missed PATs in a single playoff game. He also missed his lone PAT attempt in Week 18 against the Commanders, making it four straight misses from 33 yards.
And then it got worse.
When the Cowboys scored a fourth touchdown early in the third quarter, Maher doinked the kick off the right upright and wide. Four TDs, four missed PATs. His fourth missed PAT made him the first kicker in NFL history to miss four in a game — regular or postseason. He did, at last, succeed on his fifth PAT attempt after a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
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Maher's struggles had everyone befuddled and flustered. Peyton Manning on ESPN's ManningCast asked after the third miss why the Cowboys were even kicking the PATs at that point. Eli Manning said he'd never seen anything like it.
"Got to be kidding me. Why are we kicking it? Why are we kicking it?" Peyton Manning said. "Can you cut a guy halftime of a playoff game?"
Peyton and Eli are beside themselves after Maher missed his THIRD extra point 😭
— ESPN (@espn) January 17, 2023
"Can you cut a guy halftime of a playoff game?" —Peyton pic.twitter.com/iAtZl7B2nQ
Also on the ManningCast, Deion Sanders called out Maher's first missed PAT, saying "that's the only job you got."
"How do you miss an extra point that's the only job you got?"
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 17, 2023
—@DeionSanders 😭 pic.twitter.com/4BwTP9u8GR
MORE: Deion Sanders rips questionable roughing call against Bucs for Dak Prescott hit
Even Maher's teammate, quarterback Dak Prescott, couldn't believe the struggles of his kicker. After the third miss, Prescott spiked his helmet on the sideline and appeared to suggest the team go for 2 next time.
Dak Prescott not happy about another Brett Maher missed extra point pic.twitter.com/GNzvbJDOUE
— Ted Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) January 17, 2023
Maher has not typically struggled to make kicks. He holds the NFL record for the most made field goals over 60 yards (a perfect 4-for-4 from 60-plus) and he has missed only six extra points (128 fpr 134) in his career during the regular season. He missed three in 2022.
Maher's reliability during his career appears to have earned him a great deal of trust from Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, who told reporters after Dallas' 31-14 victory that the team will be sticking with the kicker.
"No. He's done enough good ones," Jones said.
