Cowboys' Greg Zuerlein on Missed FGs vs. Bucs: 'If I Did My Job, We Win That Game'

Dallas Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein said he's willing to shoulder the blame for Thursday night's season-opening 31-29 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he missed three kicks, including a 31-yard field goal.

"No excuses," Zuerlein told reporters. "If I'm out there, I should make the kicks. No excuses. ... I know we played well enough to win. If I did my job, we win that game. I feel bad for the guys in there that played their ass off, and I didn't hold up my end of the deal. If the team that that's good, returning every player after a Super Bowl victory, and we're right there, I just have to do my job."

Zuerlein underwent back surgery in the offseason that caused him to open training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He previously underwent back surgery after landing on injured reserve during the 2017 season with the Los Angeles Rams.

The 33-year-old Nebraska native has traditionally owned one of the NFL's strongest legs, but accuracy has been an issue at times. He made just 72.7 percent of his field goal attempts (24 of 33) during the 2019 season with the Rams, but bounced back to hit 82.9 percent (34 of 41) with Dallas in 2020.

While one of his misses Thursday was a 60-yarder late in the first half—a tough ask for any kicker—the 31-yard miss was a significant mistake.

"Obviously, missing such an easy kick, you don't even practice that," Zuerlein said. "It's automatic. You miss something like that and you analyze it for two minutes, figure out what you did wrong. You have to move on."

He also missed an extra point in the two-point loss to the Bucs.

Zuerlein nearly emerged as the hero anyway as he connected on a 48-yard field goal with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter to give the Cowboys a 29-28 lead.

Tampa Bay responded with an 11-play drive that finished with kicker Ryan Succop delivering the game-winning field goal from 36 yards out in the final seconds.

The Cowboys will look to bounce back in Week 2 when they face another tough road test against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.