During the Jets' 2-4 start, K Greg Zuerlein has been unable to lock in on the consistency that he exhibited throughout a historic 2023 campaign. And his performance has been magnified of late because the Jets have lost three consecutive one-possession games.
"He knows that he's got to make those kicks at the end of the day," special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said. "It's on us as a group. We've got to do more as a unit to come through in those times, but I have to be honest, we have not lost faith in Greg at all. You look through his track record in his career and when he's has struggled a little early, he always digs himself out of it."
Entering Week 7, Zuerlein has converted 8 of his 12 field goal attempts with a long of 40 yards coming against Denver on Sept. 29. He is 11-of-11 on extra points and has 35 points.
"Obviously the kicking is not up to our standard or Greg's standard," said interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich this week. "He knows that. He's in a little bit of a rut and he's going to work his way through like he has in an amazing 13-year career, and we have great belief in him as an organization."
Zuerlein, who's been referred to as "Legatron" and "Greg the Leg" over the years, was named a Pro Bowl alternate last season when he finished tied for No. 9 with a field-goal percentage of( 92.1%). His team-record 35 successful kicks, which was tied for the second most in the league, on 38 attempts included five 50-plus field goals made. He had elite accuracy from long range, nailing 13 of 14 from 40-49 yards and 5 of 6 from 50-59 yards.
But the Jets and their veteran kicker are looking to turn the tide, starting this Sunday against the Steelers (4-2) in Pittsburgh.
"We've tried to tweak a little a few things," Boyer said. "He had a hell of a day [Thursday] and I think he's going to rebound. I truly do."
In Week 4, the Jets had an opportunity to move to 3-1 with a home win over the Broncos but dropped a 10-9 contest. The offense was kept out of the end zone and went 0 of 2 in the red zone, settling for three Zuerlein field goals (23, 35 and 40) in the rain. But after Wil Lutz left the door open with a misfire from 50 yards away, Zuerlein's potential game-winning boot from 50 yards out went wide right.
After a 23-17 loss to the Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England, the Jets' offense sputtered in the red zone against the Bills, converting on one trip inside the Buffalo 20 for a touchdown. In the 23-20 divisional home loss, Zuerlein clanged two second-half attempts – 32 yards in the third quarter and 43 yards in the fourth quarter – off the left upright. Both kicks would have given the Green & White a lead that they never played with down the stretch.
"I've been through ups and downs, hell and back many, many times," Zuerlein told reporters postgame in the locker room. "Right now, it's not good, it's not good enough. These guys in this locker room deserved to win and they deserved to win another game this season. That bothers you as a player because you see all the hard work they put in and I'm not holding up my end of the bargain, so that's on me."
Returning from the best kicking season in franchise history, Zuerlein has connected on 82.6% of his field-goal attempts in 190 regular-season games. He has been true on 56% (49 of 87) from 50-plus yards and 80% (88 of 110) from 40-49 yards.
The Jets worked out three kickers – Matt Coghlin, Riley Patterson and Cade York – this week.
"Joe [Douglas] and those guys doing a hell of a job in this building of doing their due diligence and stuff like that," Boyer said. "It's nothing more than that."
