Kickers are as good as ever these days, yet some of the NFL's true standouts are suddenly struggling

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — This is supposed to be a golden age for placekicking in the NFL.

Try telling that to the fans in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Cincinnati right now.

Justin Tucker, Jake Elliott and Evan McPherson — three of the more dependable kickers in the league in recent years — are in slumps that have reached a crisis point. It's a jarring development not just because of what these players accomplished previously, but because this is an era when misses have become increasingly rare.

“It’s certainly frustrating, especially when we know that these (Ravens-Steelers) games come down to the wire, like this one did today, that I let a couple get away,” Tucker said after missing two field goals in the Ravens' 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh last weekend.