Nick Folk was perhaps the biggest reason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were unable to beat the New England Patriots on Thursday night, but the team has no immediate plans to find a new placekicker.
Following a game in which Folk badly missed on field goal attempts from 31, 49 and 56 yards, Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter did not say Folk’s job is in jeopardy — at least at the moment.
“[General manager] Jason Licht and I had a brief conversation afterwards. That will be something that will be forthcoming,” Koetter said, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “But you don’t want to make any rash decisions.”
Folk missed two field goals and an extra point in Week 4, but Tampa Bay was able to sneak away with a 25-23 win over the New York Giants. Had he converted just two of the three kicks he missed on Thursday, the Bucs would have had a legitimate shot at winning. The 31-yard chip shot he missed in the fourth quarter that would have made it a one-score game with plenty of time remaining was particularly devastating.
“It’s unfortunate because he’s been really solid in practice,” Koetter said. “The thing that happened last week kind of came out of left field. There was no indication that was coming. We only kicked live in practice one day this week, and Nick was lights out.”
While he said he is not concerned about losing his job just yet, Folk admitted he has let the team down.
“I left points out there. We should have won the game. 20-19. This one’s on me,” the 32-year-old admitted. “[It was a] bad week, starting from last Sunday to today. Bad week. I’ve just gotta keep my head down, keep working and try to get better.”
The Bucs have been a disaster at the kicker position since they made the unprecedented decision to draft a kicker in the second round last year. Kickers hardly ever get the glory, but Folk’s shortcomings showed just how important they can be.
