Late in the first quarter of the Ravens' eventual 27-26 win against the Philadelphia Eagles, wind and then rain began pelting M&T Bank Stadium. But it appeared that Mother Nature at least had the courtesy to wait until after kicker Justin Tucker tied an NFL record with his 10th 50-yard field goal of the season.
Tucker's 53-yarder with 1:55 left in the period helped him tie former Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh's mark set in 2012. Tucker, who is 10-of-10 from 50 yards or more and 33-of-34 total for the year, said the weather conditions made kicking a difficult task.
"It was swirling pretty good in there, but it wouldn't be a Ravens game if we didn't have to deal with some sort of adversity," he said.
Tucker pointed out that he, holder Sam Koch, and long snapper Morgan Cox practice outdoors under the watchful eyes of special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg and kicking consultant Randy Brown.
"Every single week, we are outside, and we are kicking in the elements _ whatever they might be," Tucker said. "I think more than anything, we just let our work speak for itself on Sundays."
Coach John Harbaugh said Tucker's accuracy on long field goals comes down to _ not surprisingly _ kicking the ball straight.
"The challenge on long field goals is kicking it straight," he said. "You have to kick it straight because, obviously, the further it travels, the more it deviates. Tuck is so accurate, and he has such a strong leg, he can make those kicks. Today was tough. There was a lot of wind out there. So that's a credit to him."
