TAMPA, Fla. -- Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher missed four straight extra points in Monday night's NFC wild-card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the first player in NFL history to miss that many in a game since 1932, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
Maher finally converted on his fifth attempt in the fourth quarter. His misses were the only thing that went wrong for the Cowboys, who beat the Buccaneers 31-14.
"I was worried about what those extra points might do toward winning this game, and when I got by that, I'm not going to worry about them anymore," said Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, who also said the team will not look at kickers this week ahead of Sunday's divisional-round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Maher made 50 of 53 extra points in the regular season, missing his last one in Week 18 -- meaning he had missed five in a row until making one.
"We need Brett. He understands that. We need to get back on it this week and get him ready to go," coach Mike McCarthy said. "Obviously we're kicking at an outdoor stadium out there in Santa Clara. But you know, yeah, he's disappointed. We need him. We need him to focus in. He's been super clutch for us all year."
Maher was wide right on his first two kicks Monday night, pulled his third try wide left and then hit the top of the right upright on his fourth attempt. His fifth went right down the middle.
"Super happy for the team. It was a big win for us. Definitely didn't do my part tonight," Maher said. "This team is too good moving forward for me to have to do that. Just get back at it this week."
Three missed extra points were the most in NFL playoff history.
Maher was solid on field goals this season, going 29-of-32 (90.6%) -- including 9-of-11 from 50 yards or more, with a long of 60.
ESPN's Todd Archer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
