Are Struggling Cowboys Sticking With Kicker Greg Zuerlein?
FRISCO - It is Greg Zuerlein’s track record more than his 2021 performance that is allowing him to keep his job the Dallas Cowboys kicker.
“Not at all,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said on Friday when asked if Dallas is considering changes at kicker after a Thanksgiving game loss to the Raiders. “We feel really good about Greg.''
Maybe so; Zuerlein has a Pro Bowl history from his days with the Rams and he has the endorsement of Rams-turned-Cowboys special-teams coordinator John "Bones'' Fassel - a powerful thing to have here inside The Star.
But Zuerlein has something else: Too many misses.
He missed an extra point and he missed a 59-yard field goal in Dallas’ 36-33 overtime loss to Las Vegas on Thanksgiving. The missed PAT caused the Cowboys to have to "chase points'' for the rest of the day; the 59-yard failure allowed the Raiders to begin a drive at midfield.
Zuerlein performed similarly in Dallas' Week 1 loss at Tampa, another close game in which a more solid result would've meant a win for the Cowboys, who are now 7-4 having lost three of their last four games.
Are Zuerlein's struggles unique across the NFL? Conventional wisdom says they are not. But ...
Zuerlein on field goals is at 79.2 percent this season. That ranks him 25th in the NFL.
He's at 88 percent on extra points. That ranks him at right about the same level.
That's not ... well good.
Zuerelein, nicknamed "Greg the Leg,'' over the course of his career has made 81.9 percent of his field goals over his career and 96.4 percent of his extra points. Dallas, licking its wounds while getting ready to hit the road to play the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 2 on "Thursday Night Football,'' can theoretically justify its faith in him not based on this year, but on his body of work.
"We have the utmost confidence in Greg,'' Jones said. "He’s our kicker.”
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