SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Dallas kicker Brett Maher missed his fifth extra point of the postseason when his first attempt against San Francisco was blocked before making two field-goal tries.
The Cowboys stuck with Maher for the divisional-round game against the 49ers on Sunday even after he set an NFL record with four misses last Monday night against Tampa Bay before making his final try.
The move looked questionable after Maher’s first attempt against the 49ers was low and blocked by Samson Ebukam.
Maher fared much better on field goals. He made his first field-goal try of the playoffs from a shorter distance in the third quarter when he converted a 25-yarder and then added a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter. He has made his past 12 field-goal attempts.
Maher’s five missed extra point tries in the past two games leave him with the second most in NFL history. Roy Gerela missed six tries in 43 attempts in the 1970s for Houston and Pittsburgh.
Dallas had signed Tristan Vizcaino to the practice squad this week as insurance, but didn’t activate him for the game.
Maher was in the top 10 in field goal success rate during the regular season after making 29 of 32 (91%). He was 50 of 53 on PATs before the playoffs.
There had been a dustup pregame when Maher was warming up. Trent Williams and other 49ers players tried to interfere with his attempts from San Francisco’s side of the field, leading to a brief argument.
