Tyler Loop is getting flak for what is arguably the costliest mistake of the 2025 regular season, and someone has his alternative thoughts on it.
On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens rookie kicker missed what would have been a walk-off 44-yard field goal attempt in the do-or-die, winner-take-all Game 272 at the Pittsburgh Steelers. The ensuing 24-26 loss eliminated the team from playoff contention, and he has been generating much criticism online since.
And Dez Bryant was not one to avoid adding to the misery. Right after the game ended, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver wrote:
“Justin Tucker was definitely going to make that kick!”
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Justin Tucker was definitely going to make that kick!
He also commiserated with Lamar Jackson for seeing a 238-yard, three-touchdown performance go to waste in a most agonizing way possible:
I feel sorry for Lamar Jackson man! This is crazy!
After the game, Loop was one of a handful of players who spoke to the media. He said about his missed kick:
“I wanna do better, and unfortunately, the nature of the job is, you have makes, and those are awesome, and unfortunately you have misses, and unfortunately, for it to end like that sucks.”
Meanwhile, long snapper Nick Moore defended him:
“We have nothing but faith in that guy and we love that guy.”
John Harbaugh also spoke about the attempt in his post-game press conference, saying that he had decided against gaining yards to give Loop some time should he receive a bad snap.
Missed walk-off field goal not Tyler Loop’s only mistake in Ravens’ loss at Steelers
As it turns out, however, a missed game-winning field goal was not the only thing Tyler Loop did to earn others’ ire.
On what turned out to be the Steelers’ game-winning drive, he sent the kickoff to the end zone for a touchback. This placed the ball at the 35 and gave Aaron Rodgers a rather short field, and he exploited it to eventually find Calvin Austin III for the go-ahead touchdown.
After the game, Lamar Jackson revealed that he was “livid” at Loop at that moment:
“I told him, ‘I’m just hyped based off the emotions of the game right now.’ I felt like it was going to come down to him winning the game for us at the end based on how it was going. He’s a rookie, you know. It’s all good. Just leave it in the past.”
Lamar Jackson said he did not talk to Tyler Loop after the game, but he did talk to him in the middle of the game when he kicked the ball our of bounds. Lamar admitted he was “livid” at him. “But I told him, ‘I’m just hyped based off the emotions of the game right now.’ I felt
The Ravens ended their season 8-9, their first losing record since 2021. They were also swept by the Steelers for the second time in three years.
