Justin Tucker: The most accurate kicker in NFL history

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker entered the NFL history books on Sunday when he broke the record of the longest field goal in the league’s history with a 66-yard kick in a close 19-17 victory against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

With just seven seconds left on the clock, Raves QB Lamar Jackson completed a 36-yard pass to Sammy Watkins, and then was able to spike the ball.

Tucker fired a kick down the centre that struck the crossbar and rebounded off the crossbar for the victory, setting off a frenzied celebration on the field as the Ravens trumped the Lions.

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The 31-year-old is the most accurate kicker in the league’s history, connecting on 294-of-324 field goal attempts (90.7%).

Born on November 21, 1989, Tucker attended Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, and graduated with honours. Nick Foles, the current quarterback of the Chicago Bears, was a teammate of his at Westlake.

He was a member of the 2008 US Army All-American Bowl team.

Tucker was a member of the Texas Longhorns football team while at the University of Texas. He kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired in 2011, bringing an end to a 117-year rivalry between Texas A&M University and the University of Texas. Texas rated No. 25 at the time, won 27–25.

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Although he wasn’t drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, he signed with the Ravens as a rookie free agent on May 29, 2012.

Following his signing, Tucker has made his place in the Ravens team and in NFL as one of the finest kickers in history. In his first season, he became the first rookie ever to make two 50-plus-yard FGs in two games.

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In 2018, Tucker became the fastest pure kicker in league history to reach the 900-point (107 games) and 800-point milestone (95 games), only Gino Cappelletti (a WR/kicker combo from 1960-70) did it faster (106 & 93 games, respectively).