Late-Season Pressure: Can the Ravens Rookie Kicker Decide the AFC North?

Tyler Loop did not ease into his NFL career as an apprentice; he walked into the Ravens’ facility already carrying the weight of replacing a franchise icon. Drafted in the sixth round this past spring, Loop became Baltimore’s kicker of the present almost immediately after longtime star Justin Tucker was released in the offseason following sexual misconduct allegations that abruptly ended his tenure with the team. Instead of learning behind a veteran, the rookie inherited one of the most pressure-packed jobs in football the moment he arrived. From his first kick in a Ravens uniform, the question was not if he would someday be ready for the role, but whether he could handle it right now.

So far in his rookie season, Loop has answered most of those questions with calm consistency and quiet production. He has gone 22-for-24 on field goal attempts, a 91.7 percent conversion rate that would be impressive for any kicker, let alone one navigating the expectations that come with following a potential Hall of Famer. He has also converted 29 of 30 extra point attempts, reinforcing the idea that the operation is stable and reliable on the snaps that are supposed to be automatic. This is because his work has mostly come in non-dramatic moments; his performance has largely flown under the radar compared to the offensive storylines swirling around Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the evolving identity of the Ravens’ attack.

The pressure on Loop’s shoulders coming into this season was enormous, even if it has not always been the top headline. He entered a locker room programmed for years to assume three points were a given from almost any reasonable distance, and he had to earn the trust of teammates and coaches who were accustomed to Tucker’s almost robotic accuracy. That meant training camp and early-season practices were effectively auditions not just for the coaching staff, but for a veteran core that knows how thin the margins are in December and January. By producing at such an efficient clip early, Loop has largely met those expectations and allowed the Ravens to maintain their aggressive, analytics-influenced approach on fourth downs and late-half situations.

At the same time, there is an important caveat attached to his résumé that shapes how his season is viewed heading into the stretch run. To this point, Loop has not yet been asked to attempt a true late-game, game-deciding kick in the fourth quarter with the division race or playoff seeding hanging in the balance. Regular season pressure comes in different tiers, and while he has nailed the “routine” and “moderate” tiers with his accuracy and poise, the “season-on-the-line” tier remains an unknown. Until he stands over a ball with the clock winding under 10 seconds, the stadium on edge, and the outcome resting on his plant foot and swing, there will be a natural curiosity about how he responds.

That unknown is part of what makes the final five games of the regular season so intriguing for both Loop and the Ravens. Baltimore enters this stretch at 6-6, tied with the Steelers for the AFC North lead but holding the edge for now on tiebreakers, which is another way of saying their margin for error is effectively zero. In a division built on close, low-scoring, physical games, it is easy to imagine one or two contests in the coming weeks being decided by a single possession and, potentially, by a single kick. If those moments arrive, Loop will not just be a rookie trying to do his job; he will be a central figure in determining whether Baltimore finishes off a third consecutive division crown or watches it slip away.

Loop’s potential impact on this push goes beyond the obvious image of a walk-off field goal attempt. His presence and reliability influence how John Harbaugh calls games from the sideline and how offensive coordinator Todd Monken scripts drives once the Ravens cross midfield. If the staff believes Loop is money from, say, 50 yards and in, they can afford to be more measured and strategic on early downs, knowing that a stalled drive still likely ends in points. Conversely, if trust wavers at any point, it changes the calculus on fourth-and-manageable situations, two-point conversion decisions, and whether to chase touchdowns instead of settling for a long attempt in swirling December winds.

For now, Loop has done everything within his current portfolio to justify that trust, even if the most dramatic chapter of his rookie story has yet to be written. His accuracy numbers stack up with the better kickers in the league, his extra-point reliability keeps hidden points from slipping away, and his demeanor has allowed the Ravens to transition from an all-time great without the kind of weekly drama some feared. The next five games, though, will determine how his debut season is remembered: as a quietly excellent first act that happened to coincide with another division title, or as the year a rookie kicker stepped into the harshest kind of spotlight and either cemented or complicated Baltimore’s grip on the AFC North. In a race this tight, it may take only one swing of Loop’s leg to decide which way that narrative breaks.