Buccaneers' Nick Folk: Nightmarish performance in loss
Folk missed field goals of 56, 49 and 31 yards in Thursday's 19-14 loss to the Patriots while making both of his extra-point attempts.
Folk was shaky in Week 4 against the Giants before nailing a game-winning field goal, but there was no such redemption Thursday. His first miss, which came just before halftime, was certainly tolerable considering the distance, but the other pair of misfires were difficult to swallow given the five-point margin of defeat. Folk's 49-yard try came early in the fourth quarter with the Bucs trailing 16-7, while the 31-yard would-be chip shot with 5:39 remaining that immediately went wide left ensured that an 11-play, 84-yard march went for naught. With three misses from 40-49 yards in the last two games, Folk is just 2-for-5 from a distance that head coach Dirk Koetter has repeatedly emphasized he expects his kickers to be nearly automatic from. The extended layoff before a Week 6 tilt against the Cardinals gives the Bucs a chance to audition competition for the placekicking job at a minimum -- if not jettison Folk outright -- although Koetter remained thoroughly noncommital about the issue immediately following the game.