The Cowboys have kicked the Buccaneers butts all game.
Well, in everything except the actual kicking.
In Tuesday’s (AEDT) wildcard game, Dallas kicker Brett Maher became the first player in NFL history to miss three extra points in a playoff game, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Then he did it again.
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The Cowboys scored on their opening drive of the second half, but coach Mike McCarthy didn’t follow Prescott or Peyton Manning’s advice. Maher missed again, clanking his kick off the right upright for his fourth miss of the day.
Finally, Maher hit his first extra point of the game after the Cowboys scored in the fourth quarter, pushing Dallas’ lead to 31-6. But the touchdown — and 18-yard reception by a wide-open CeeDee Lamb, occurred on a 4th-and-four. McCarthy opted to go for it instead of kicking the field goal.
Dallas was in complete control all game, going on to record a 31-14 win to eliminate Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they appear to have a crisis at kicker ahead of a tantalising Divisional Round showdown with the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara next Monday (AEDT).
