For the past two seasons, Brandon Aubrey has been the gold standard for NFL kickers. His booming leg and icy demeanor made him a weapon the Dallas Cowboys could always count on. But after Sunday night's 28-20 loss to the New York Giants, a familiar unease is creeping back into Cowboys Nation: What if the magic is gone?
Aubrey's night wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't flawless either. He connected on both of his field goal attempts, but the real concern came on a point-after attempt in the third quarter. Thanks to a taunting penalty on Javonte Williams, the try was pushed back to nearly 50 yards — a distance that used to be automatic for Aubrey. This time, his kick sailed wide right, and the miss felt like more than just a single point.
It was the kind of miss that has fans scrolling through memory banks, trying to find a pattern. Last season, Aubrey missed six field goals and one extra point, and some of those came in critical moments down the stretch. The accuracy that once seemed superhuman suddenly looked human.
Now, the Cowboys' faithful are doing what they do best: worrying out loud. Social media lit up with comparisons to former Dallas kicker Dan Bailey, who was once the most accurate in NFL history before his game mysteriously unraveled. "Do you guys remember when Dan Bailey was the most accurate kicker in NFL history and then just randomly one day started missing every kick?" one fan posted. "It's happening to Brandon Aubrey, isn't it."
Others pointed to subtle signs of decline. "It started when his kicks were not right down the middle," wrote one observer. Another added, "Yes, you could see the yips setting in last season. Its over man." Even a Giants fan chimed in, noting, "I was surprised to see him be so inaccurate. Even the makes were shaky. What happened to him since last year?"
The psychology of kicking is fragile, and history is littered with once-reliable legs that suddenly lost their way. Mike Vanderjagt, another former most-accurate kicker, saw his career spiral after signing a big deal. The fear is that Aubrey, who signed a lucrative extension this offseason, might be following a similar path.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who took the blame for the team's flat performance, didn't single out Aubrey, but the concerns are real. As the Cowboys look to bounce back, they'll need their kicker to be a weapon, not a liability. The good news? One bad kick doesn't define a season. But for a fanbase that has seen this movie before, the anxiety is understandable.
For now, all eyes will be on Aubrey in Week 2, hoping that the yips stay away. The NFL's recent decision on sneaky kicker tricks won't help Dallas here; they just need their guy to split the uprights. If the misses continue, the coaching staff's plan for the kicking game could come under even more scrutiny. And with the Giants already sensing a weakness, the pressure is mounting.
Can Aubrey shake it off and return to form? Or is this the beginning of a painful decline? Cowboys fans are bracing for either answer.
