OWINGS MILLS – Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff needed an amateur groundskeeper to tend to the rough terrain at Heinz Field.
So, holder Sam Koch smoothed the dirt over with his cleats while Cundiff prepared for each kick.
The strategy was an effective one as Cundiff split the uprights on a 51-yard field goal as the clock expired in the first half to stake the Ravens to a three-point lead at halftime during a 23-20 victory Sunday night over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
By doing so, Cundiff joined some exclusive company. He became one of only three kickers to connect on a field goal over 50 yards since the opening of Heinz Field along with former Steelers kicker Jeff Reed and former San Francisco 49ers kicker Joe Nedney.
Cundiff’s field goal is the second-longest ever at Heinz Field behind Reed’s 52-yarder from last year.
“It’s a testament to how bad the field is, that’s all that is,” Cundiff said with a smile Wednesday in the Ravens’ locker room. “They play a lot of high school games there. They re-sodded it, played the Patriots and then a high school game and then a college game and our game. That’s four games in about seven days.”
Cundiff wound up hitting three of four field goals Sunday, rebounding from a missed 40-yard try in the first quarter that would have boosted the Ravens’ lead to six points. He converted kicks from 18, 43 and 51 yards.
“If you look at the first kick I missed, I slipped out on my first step,” Cundiff said. “Right away, I gave the turf too much credit. The way it was in pregame wound up being different once we started playing on it. Sam and I started lining it up early.
“He would get the plant spot and really pat it down with his cleats, and I would get ready for the path of the ball and get that down. That way, I know if I get my steps I can get a good strike on it. I missed that field goal, but I was able to respond.”
Without Cundiff’s clutch field goals in a narrow game, the Ravens probably don’t beat the defending AFC champions.
Cundiff provided all nine of the Ravens’ points in the first half after running back Ray Rice’s 76-yard touchdown run was nullified by a questionable holding penalty on rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith.
“I think the one at the end of the half was probably the biggest one,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “That was huge for us because it was a 51-yarder, and I think there’s only been four 50-plus yarders kicked there in history at Heinz Field.
“That shows you how tough it is. The footing was really tough. The first kick, I think his drive foot slipped a little bit, and that contributed to the push, but that was obviously huge.”
With the exception of Cundiff’s errant 40-yarder at Pittsburgh, all of his misses this season have been from beyond 50 yards . That includes misses from 52, 51 and 51 yards during games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the St. Louis Rams.
The 52-yarder in Jacksonville was way off, but Cundiff made the game-winner from 25 yards out the following week against the Arizona Cardinals.
“For me, it’s just doing in a game what I do in practice on a consistent basis,” Cundiff said. “I feel I’ve practiced well this year from 50-plus. It’s just taking advantage of it in a game. In the game in Jacksonville, it was a tough situation. Stepping on the field, I wasn’t in a good rhythm. That’s not an excuse.”
All of Cundiff’s misses have been wide right this year, leading to various theories around town about what’s been going on with his mechanics during an otherwise strong season.
“Each kick has been a little bit different,” Cundiff said. “.Even though they’ve all been right, they’ve all been completely different things. I want to take that momentum from that made kick and move forward and start showing what I can do.”
Cundiff made the Pro Bowl last season for the first time and was rewarded with a five-year, $14.7 million contract that included a $3 million signing bonus.
He tied a franchise record shared by himself and Matt Stover with five field goals in a 29-14 win over the Houston Texans earlier this season, establishing a new Ravens record with seven touchbacks out of eight kickoffs.
Midway through the season, Cundiff has made 20 of 24 field goals for an 83.3 percent success rate after a 26 for 29 mark last season for an 89.7 percentage. He also set a franchise record with 40 touchbacks to tie Mitch Berger’s NFL record from 1998.
Now, Cundiff’s currently on pace to finish the year with 40 field goals. He has already scored 80 of the Ravens’ 208 points this season.
“I’m one miss off my pace from last year, and, in my opinion, I’ve had much tougher kicks,” Cundiff said. “Each situation is different. Some guys, you examine when and where they made their field goals.
“I would like to have a few misses back from 50-plus, but I feel like I’m well-prepared and ready for the second half of the season.”
