The Dallas Cowboys handily defeated the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-14 in their NFC wild-card game on Monday night. It was an all-around dominant effort from the Cowboys, with the exception of kicker Brett Maher.
The 33-year-old missed his first four extra point attempts during Monday's contest before finally converting his fifth and final attempt of the night. Despite the historically brutal game from Maher, both quarterback Dak Prescott and head coach Mike McCarthy seem to have his back going into the next round of the playoffs.
Dak Prescott sticks up for Brett Maher:
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 17, 2023
"I'm Money Maher's biggest fan... I just played like s--- a week ago"
: @CBSSportsHQ pic.twitter.com/SZqINWv1FB
Doesn’t sound like the Cowboys will be looking for another kicker
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 17, 2023
Head coach Mike McCarthy spoke to reporters postgame about Brett Maher missing four PATs tonight.#SuperWildCard pic.twitter.com/RRjNgF5H9K
It was an especially bizarre evening for the Nebraska product, after he had just three missed extra points all season, going 50-for-53. One of the misses came in his lone attempt in Week 18, however, so at one point Maher had racked up five straight missed PATs.
The former New Orleans Saints kicker was also solid on his field goal tries during the 2022 regular season, going 29-for-32, including a perfect 14-for-14 on attempts from under 40 yards away.
Dallas will travel to face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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