A topic of conversation throughout the offseason was who would win the kicking job and who would do it well enough not to make us fans want to rip our hair out. The struggles Brett Maher experienced the first couple of times with the team were touched on repeatedly when he was re-signed and won the kicking job.
I will be the first to say I was part of the group that thought it was a bad idea to bring him back with other options available.
It might be time to appreciate whatever he did as a member of the Saints a season ago that has carried over through the first four weeks of the Cowboys season.
He is kicking with confidence, and it shows.
Maher has made 10 of his 11 attempted field goals this season; his only miss was a 59-yarder last week against the Giants, just before halftime.
Sunday against the Commanders, Maher nailed kicks from 53, 45, 29, and 28 yards.
One of his two extra points was blocked and not counted as a miss.
Of all the NFL kickers this season with nine plus FG attempts, Maher ranks 2nd in percentage, sitting at 90.9%.
Maher is becoming money anytime he steps on the field.
I can tell you my nerves about him missing a kick have decreased quite a bit since the start of the season. Most everyone knew that kicks over 50 were a strong suit for him, but he is making all the kicks fans worried about coming into the season.
Thus far, on kicks inside 50, he has been money.
Of course, he will miss a kick at some point; we all know that.
If he completely changes course and begins to struggle, we can have that conversation, but you can argue he has been as big an asset as anyone, with Dak Prescott missing time.
He is making the kicks on drives that don’t end in touchdowns, and we have seen plenty of those.
Maher needs to keep kicking with great confidence, and he will end up having the best season of his career and find himself kicking for the team next season and maybe even the Pro Bowl.
I was hard on the front office when they brought him in, as I mentioned, but to this point in the season, he has shown up big time.
I am happy to be wrong but even happier that he’s helping the Cowboys win football games.