Tyler Loop Describes His Missed Field Goal
All season long, Tyler Loop dreamed of making a game-winning field goal.
With the division title at stake, it finally happened in the closing seconds of the Ravens' regular season. There isn't a better script.
But Loop's 44-yard effort went wide right, rapidly turning his fantasy into a nightmare. Loop's stellar rookie campaign came to a devastating end when the Ravens lost 26–24 in Pittsburgh.
"For it to end like that sucks, and I want to do better," Loop said. "Unfortunately, the nature of the [kicker] job is you have makes, and those are awesome, and unfortunately, you have misses, and for that to happen tonight sucks."
Loop said he knew the kick wasn't good as soon as he struck the ball.
"It was a great situation, exactly what we wanted, and unfortunately, I just mishit the ball," Loop said. "We call it hitting it thin. It spins fast and goes off to the right.
"I felt it drop as soon as it touched my foot. We discuss hitting on the shoe's fourth lace. It struck the foot thin and felt a bit lower down.
Loop had only three misses this season and had made every kick from less than 50 yards. However, the rookie sixth-round selection had never encountered a high-stakes scenario like the one he encountered on Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
After Steelers kicker Chris Boswell botched an extra point with 55 seconds left, opening the door for a game-winning field goal, long snapper Nick Moore stated the specialists were celebrating on the bench.
"We work every single day for that moment," Moore said.
A miraculous 26-yard catch by Isaiah Likely on fourth-and-7 seemingly won the game, setting the stage for Loop.
It wasn't the only challenging moment of the game for him, as he also sent a kickoff out of bounds in the fourth quarter after the Ravens re-took the lead on a 50-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers.
That gaffe drew the ire of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who made several jaw-dropping plays in the fourth quarter to keep the Ravens punching back.
"I felt like it was going to come down to him to win the game for us at the end just because of how the game was going," Jackson stated. "He is a novice. Everything is fine. Simply put it in the past.
The Ravens welcomed their young kicker following his miss, despite the disappointment. Loop was embraced by head coach John Harbaugh as they made their way to the locker room. As Loop addressed reporters, Moore and punter Jordan Stout stood by his sides.
Loop sat at his locker for a long time after the game ended. He was reading texts from family and friends telling him to keep his head up, and he read a prayer that he had written down before the game.
Loop did well this season replacing Ravens legend Justin Tucker, who had nailed so many clutch kicks over the years. But it's an ending that will sit with Loop for a long offseason.
"We talk about having a one-minute rule," Loop said. "Obviously, this one will be a little bit longer than a minute, because it is the last play of the season. It's going to be one of those things that next time I get back out on the field to kick a ball, it's time to move on."
