Dallas’ signing was necessitated by Maher’s historically tough night in the Cowboys’ wildcard win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The veteran kicker missed an NFL-record four extra point attempts in the blowout win. Maher finally hit one home on his final XP attempt of the night.
Maher, a 33-year-old journeyman, is in his third stint with the Cowboys. As of Monday night, Maher was enjoying the best year of his career, hitting 90.6% of his field goal attempts and hitting 50 of 53 extra point attempts. As one of the league’s best rangers, Maher is usually as reliable as it gets, which is why he still has the support of his teammates and coaches despite Monday’s missteps.
“I believe in the hot hand, and I absolutely believe in the yips,” Dallas special teams coordinator John Fassel said of Maher on Tuesday, per ESPN. “And you know, you sometimes wonder how you get in the yips, and you sometimes wonder how you get in the hot hand again. I think it’s all about getting back to the line and shooting that thing over and over again. We missed a few free throws [Monday] … He had a hot hand. Let’s be honest, he was just missing [six] Kicks all season. The whine happens, so I expect a hot hand to come up.”
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy added, “I think the biggest thing is making sure you have a good plan for how Brett is progressing. Just make sure he’s ready.”
Star quarterback Dak Prescott said after the win, “I’m Money Maher’s biggest fan.”
Vizcaino is in his fifth season in the NFL. The 26-year-old kicker played in three games for the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots this season and hit all five tries (two FGs, three XPs) in Arizona’s Week 10 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Vizcaino has never played in a postseason game, despite having San Francisco experience. He played one game for the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in the final week of the 2020 season.
Dallas meets San Francisco for a spot in the title game at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.