'Almost Perfect': Rookie Kicker Brandon Aubrey Reacts to Miss, Begins New Streak in Playoff-Bound Cowboys' Win
"Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end ..."
Somehow Semisonic foresaw the Dallas Cowboys' 2023-24 kicking situation when they penned the iconic "Closing Time" about a quarter-century prior.
Dallas' victorious 38-10 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday saw kicker Brandon Aubrey's record streak of 35 successful field goal attempts to start his NFL career come to an end. The orthopedic sensation was, in fact, 1-of-3 on Sunday, as his first boot was blocked in the opening half and he later missed a 36-yard attempt in the fourth.
“I got the mis-hit out of the way,” Aubrey said of the latter miss. “I wrapped my foot around it, just pulled my toe around the outside panel.”
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Aubrey, however, managed to earn a clutch kick in a four-touchdown win, starting a new streak of successful launches before all was said and done. With Dallas' backups putting the finishing touches on a win that secured an NFC East division title, Aubrey capped off the final offensive drive of the game with a 50-yard tally that created the final margin.
"It was important to give him one more kick at the end," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy declared.
“If anything, it’s a little more pressure after you miss one, to bounce back and show them you still got it,” Aubrey added. “(In) the NFL, it’s, ‘What have you done lately?’ Missing just adds to that.”
Aubrey's relatively bittersweet ending to the season denied the league's final lead in field goal success, as former Cowboy Nick Folk subtly swiped the mark while repping the Tennessee Titans. But it's safe to say that Aubrey stood as one of the league's most successful newcomers and granted Dallas (12-5) a sense of reassurance that was sorely missing from last year's team.
At this time last season, the Cowboys' special teams were special in name only, at least in the kicking department: in the midst of a 26-6 defeat in Washington, Brett Maher missed an extra point that wound up starting a dubious streak of five consecutive unsuccessful singles that extended to their Wild Card matchup in Tampa Bay. Maher would miss one more in the Divisional round in San Francisco, a one-point misfire that prevented Dallas from taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
While Dallas hardly needed extra points in the Wild Card win, a reliable kicker is an obvious necessity on the road to the Super Bowl. Of the Cowboys' eight playoff games since the 2014 season, all but one (the aforementioned Wild Card win over Tampa) has been decided by one possession.
Aubrey's emergence has put those concerns to rest and his final field goal drove the point home. With those final three points, Aubrey improved to 10-of-10 from at least 50 yards away, a mark that includes one of only five from 60 hit this season. Aubrey's efforts have since been rewarded with an invite to the upcoming Pro Bowl Games in Orlando.
The Notre Dame alum will have a high-profile chance to add to his new streak come next Sunday when the Cowboys host the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card round (3:30 p.m CT, Fox).
