Cowboys: ‘We Got Ourselves A Kicker!’ Rookie Brandon Aubrey 'Is A Weapon'
After the Dallas Cowboys' returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown, out trotted rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey to attempt his first-ever extra point.
As soon as Aubrey's kick left his foot, all of his and Cowboys fans' worst nightmares came to fruition: he hooked it wide left. The kick brought back gut-wrenching memories of former kicker Brett Maher's five missed extra points in the postseason, including four against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Special teams coordinator John Fassel said the reason for the missed extra point is because Aubrey's timing was thrown off by the "sudden-change" touchdown and with the difference in when the play clock started between preseason and the regular season
"Kickers usually aren't necessarily ready when special teams is on the field and the offense is ready to take over," Fassel said. "(In preseason) they were going from touchdown to starting the 25-second clock, so we were hustling to get lined up to kick a PAT. It was just a little bit slower last night maybe because it was regular season. He got lined up, and he was standing there for about 12 seconds before we were actually ready to snap the ball."
However, Aubrey and the special teams unit figured things out, nailing all four of his remaining extra points and his 21- and 38-yard field goal attempts. A lights-out kicker, like Maher was during the 2022 regular season, can be the difference between winning and losing, and Fassel feels confident with the 28-year-old rookie.
"He is an inexperienced kicker, which I love by the way," Fassel said. "He is a weapon."
Aubrey's first love was soccer, playing soccer at Notre Dame before getting drafted in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC. He spent one year on the club's United Soccer League affiliate team, Toronto FC II, and was released after one season.
He was signed by Bethlehem Steel FC a year later, the USL affiliate of the Philadelphia Union, but was released after one season, ending his soccer career.
Aubrey kept working and was eventually drafted by the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League in 2022. He scored a league-high 76 points in the USFL's inaugural season in 2022, making 18 of his 22 field goal attempts and was 22-for-24 on extra points.
Last season, Aubrey made all 35 of his extra points and was 14-for-15 on field goals, earning a tryout and eventually getting signed by the Cowboys July 6, 2023. In the preseason, Aubrey was 2-for-3, including a 59-yarder against the Las Vegas Raiders, and 8-of-9 on extra points, winning the competition over Tristan Vizcaino.
"Everyone has their own unique story," Aubrey said. "The reason I'm doing it is kind of like a redemption story for the soccer arc and for my family, as well."
After Aubrey's first miss, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jokingly blamed his son and vice president Stephen Jones for not knowing "how to pick a kicker," but liked the rebound he saw from the rookie once he shook off the miss.
“That’s my man," Jones said on his radio show on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday. ”We got ourselves a kicker.”
