Even Brandon Aubrey has finally succumbed to the Dallas Cowboys’ home woes, and some fans believe the ESPN broadcast was to blame.
Aubrey on Monday missed a field goal during a Cowboys home game for the first time in his career at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Dallas trailed 17-10 with a minute left in the first half when Aubrey lined up for a relatively easy 40-yard attempt.
The second-year pro slipped as he went in for the field goal attempt. The off-balance kick resulted in the ball curling right and deflecting off the upright for a miss.
Brandon Aubrey just slipped and missed the 40-yard field goal. It’s his first ever miss at home as a Cowboy. pic.twitter.com/bIIOEPCU3a
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) November 19, 2024
Aubrey entered the game 32/32 on field goal attempts at AT&T Stadium.
Before the miss, ESPN announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman had talked up how sure-footed Aubrey was from virtually any range. A few plays earlier, Aikman had already claimed that Dallas had “three points in the pocket right now” when the team was still near midfield.
"This is three points in the pocket, right now." – Troy Aikman on Brandon Aubrey while the Cowboys are at midfield 🏈🎙️ #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/MKFZP18kwr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 19, 2024
Several fans believed that the “Monday Night Football” duo jinxed the Cowboys kicker.
They did jinx Aubrey. I yelled five minutes ago for them to shut up
— ✭ 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝑴𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆 ✭ (@ParisaMichelle) November 19, 2024
I have never in my life seen an announcers jinx like the one that was just cast on Brandon Aubrey
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) November 19, 2024
ESPN jinxed Aubrey for ten minutes straight.
— Tim Roberts (@21stCenturyTim) November 19, 2024
I knew when they kept talking about how good Aubrey is they were working up the jinx 🤦🏼♂️
— Jesus Monge (@JesusMonge75) November 19, 2024
Buck and Aikman knew Cowboys fans would come at them with pitchforks right after Aubrey’s miss. They both minimized their involvement in the miss, claiming it was “a full network jinx” and not just them.
"And that is a full network jinx. I'm not taking the fall for this. It was everybody." – Joe Buck
"I'm not either." – Troy Aikman 🏈📺🎙️ #NFL #MNF https://t.co/6Q0Stnnz7Q pic.twitter.com/qvOyoLmS99
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 19, 2024
The miss was also Aubrey’s first from 40-49 yards in his career. He had gone 11/11 within that range before the slip cost him what was likely to be another conversion.
It’s a testament to Aubrey’s kicking abilities that fans look for external factors to blame whenever he misses. After he missed a 51-yard attempt in Week 4 against the New York Giants, some Cowboys fans peddled a full-on conspiracy theory.
