Now that the Dallas Cowboys’ have extended their season by one more week, their first phone call is to a kicker.
A kicker.
Any kicker.
They can’t trust the one they have.
He’s come down with a terrible case of the yips at the worst moment possible for himself, and his team.
Maher made history in the Cowboys’ 31-14 NFC wild card playoff win at Tampa by setting the standard in missing not field goals, but extra points.
Maher missed his first four extra point attempts, an NFL record. He missed three during the regular season, including his final attempt in the Cowboys’ final regular season game.
It was so bad during the game, “HE MISSED AGAIN” was trending on Twitter.
During the ESPN telecast, color analyst Troy Aikman said, “They might be looking for a kicker next week. It’s in his head now. It’s only thing that’s gone wrong for Dallas. But it’s a big deal.”
He’s not kidding.
During ESPN’s Manningcast, Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning asked, “Can you cut a guy at halftime?”
Also, he’s not kidding.
Former NFL kicker Morten Andersen Tweeted during the game, “Are the Cowboys hiring?”
He last kicked in 2007.
The yips can happen at any time, in any sport.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “The yips are involuntary wrist spasms that occur most commonly when golfers are trying to putt. However, the yips can also affect people who play other sports — such as cricket, darts and baseball.”
No mention of NFL kickers, so that’s a plus.
The Mayo Clinic continues, “It was once thought that the yips were always associated with performance anxiety. However, it now appears that some people have the yips due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles (focal dystonia).”
The yips arrive with no warning.
Former L.A. Dodgers second baseman Steve Sax somehow lost his ability to throw the ball from second to first base. He eventually figured it out.
The same thing happened to former New York Yankees infielder Chuck Knoblauch. It ended his career.
New York Mets catcher Mackey Sasser lost the ability to throw the ball from home plate to the catcher. The same thing happened to former Texas Rangers catching prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Former Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys kicker Mike Vanderjagt was one of the most accurate kickers from 1998 to 2005. A missed 46-yard field goal that would have tied the game in the final seconds of the Colts’ AFC divisional playoff loss against Pittsburgh changed him.
He signed with the Cowboys in the offseason, but wasn’t the same. He was cut in 2006, and never played in the NFL again.
Golfer David Duval won the British Open in 2001, and then developed some mechanical issues and never found it again.
Sometimes these things are physical, and the other 99.8 percent of the time they are mental.
A miss, or mess up, at the wrong time and the player is a victim of over thinking what previously required zero thought.
There was nothing to suggest that Maher was suddenly going to forget how to do the easiest thing on his plate.
He was 29-of-32 on field goal attempts this season, including 9-of-11 on attempts from 50 yards or more.
He came into the season as one of the biggest questions on the roster, but Maher has never been an issue until this wild card game.
At the 10:13 mark of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys faced a fourth-and-four from the Tampa 18-yard line, and led 24-6. It was a perfect time to trot out Maher to regain some confidence.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy kept Maher on the sideline, and opted to go for it.
That means either McCarthy has no confidence in Maher, or he wanted to go for the kill shot.
On the fourth down play, quarterback Dak Prescott threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to receiver CeeDee Lamb.
This was Maher’s chance. To nail an extra point in a blowout win.
Could he do it?
Maher made the point after attempt, starting a mass celebration on the sidelines, and for every Cowboy fan watching.
It’s just an extra point, and when the score is so lopsided ultimately it’s not that big of a deal.
It’s the next game that is a concern. A missed PAT, or field goal, against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC’s divisional round feels just a bit bigger.
Maher may have just had a historically bad game, and he will be fine when the Cowboys play at San Francisco in the NFC divisional round next week.
Or, he’s in his head with a case of the yips.
Because, as Troy Aikman said, “It’s a big deal.”
