The Baltimore Ravens were unable to advance to this year's Super Bowl, but it wasn't for lack of chances in Sunday's afternoon contest against the New England Patriots. Instead Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff was made the goat after missing a potential overtime-forcing field goal late in the game.
Billy Cundiff On Missed Field Goal: ‘There’s Really No Excuse For It’
Cundiff didn’t have the greatest regular season, but he’s proven that he’s capable of making big field goals over the last few seasons. That wasn’t the case on Sunday, however, but he talked to the Boston Herald about what went wrong ... kind of.
“I think we can keep things simple: It’s a kick I’ve made a thousand times in my career,” said Cundiff, who connected from 20 and 39 yards earlier in the game. “I just went out there and didn’t convert. There’s really no excuse for it.”
“It’s one of those situations that will strengthen me in the end,” Cundiff said. “Throughout my career, I’ve had challenging situations and I’m still standing here today. It’s something that is going to be tough for a while, but I’ve got two kids and there are some lessons I need to teach them. First and foremost is to stand up and face the music and move on.”
The Ravens had another chance to tie the game earlier in the fourth quarter, but Baltimore's offense decided instead to try and convert on fourth down (Joe Flacco threw an incomplete pass). Cundiff understood that decision, too.
“You have to look at it as a statistical decision and take the emotion out of it,” Cundiff said. “If you look at my stats this year at 50-plus (1-for-6), I didn’t give coach a lot of confidence that I’d make that play. I wasn’t as successful as I’d like to be in that range, so I probably made the decision for him pretty easy.”
For updates and analysis on these teams, visit Ravens blog Baltimore Beat Down, Patriots blog Pats Pulpit and SB Nation Boston. Don’t forget to check out SB Nation’s NFL hub for all your playoff news.
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