Commentators troll Brett Maher during Pro Bowl Kick-Tac-Toe challenge

Poor Brett Maher just cannot catch a break these days. Even without him being present during the Pro Bowl, he was the butt of jokes when things went a bit awry.

Among the many challenges taking place during the game, one that highlighted special team players was a challenge called Kick-Tac-Toe. It involved kickers, long snappers and punters trying to play tic-tac-toe. As is customary during these games, the AFC and the NFC went head-to-head. It was ultimately won by the AFC as long snapper Morgan Cox was the star of the challenge.

But it also featured some misses. One of those came from Jason Myers, as he missed a kick wide left. As it happened, the commentators could not help but invoke Brett Maher.

Despite the great regular season that he had, where he converted over 90% of his kicks, in the playoffs, he missed five extra-point conversions, including four in one game for the Dallas Cowboys against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He seems to have become a reference point when kickers’ radars go awry.

What’s in store for Brett Maher’s future?

Brett Maher was unfortunately let go by the Dallas Cowboys after his poor performance in the playoffs. This is despite him making two field-goal attempts and generally not being at fault for their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round. But Jerry Jones has said they will be moving on from him.

He is sure to have more opportunities in the league. He hasn’t had a bad regular season and there are teams that will be looking at him. He is one of the most experienced players in the league, having played for a lot of teams in his career and has always overcome adversity.

Brett Maher talk overshadows Morgan Cox brilliance

However, the kick-tac-toe story in the Pro Bowl was all about Morgan Cox. He was the one who snapped the ball long and straight to complete a vertical line for the AFC. It saw players like Justin Tucker, perhaps the greatest kicker of all time, miss the spots, but Cox was in the zone.

It was great to see these special team players in focus. What they do on a regular basis requires specialization and seeing challenges designed for them that highlight their abilities is great. Maybe we will see Brett Maher come back and make the Pro Bowl one day. He has made the All-Star in the Canadian Football League as a punter before, so there is no reason why he cannot do this again.