Kevin Gorman: After regaining Steelers' trust, Chris Boswell is kicking for keeps

Chris Boswell is prepared if this season finale ends the same way it did last year, with the Pittsburgh Steelers kicking a winning field goal for their ninth victory.

This time, Boswell would get to be the hero.

Even if that’s the last thing he wants Sunday afternoon against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

“Hopefully, we don’t have to be put in that situation,” Boswell said. “Hopefully, we’ll be clicking in all three phases, and I’ll only kick when I’m needed.”

If it comes down to the Steelers needing Boswell to put one through the uprights, they can count on him being their best bet for offensive scoring. It shows what a difference a year makes, as Boswell is back to Pro Bowl form even if he was snubbed from selection in the NFL’s annual all-star event.

After missing seven field-goal and five extra-point attempts last season, Boswell was blamed by many, including Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, for his struggles with consistency and the failure to win close games and clinch a playoff berth.

“You’re going to be tested. We’re going to be tested,” Tomlin said last December. “Sometimes, you’re going to fail. You better pass enough of them.”

Boswell’s season ended when the Steelers placed him on injured reserve with a groin injury in Week 17. Boswell could only watch as Matt McCrane kicked a 35-yard winner with 1 minute, 56 seconds left to beat the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field, and the Steelers awarded McCrane the game ball.

“It’s always hard to not play and watch everybody else play, especially kicking,” Boswell said. “There’s only one on the team. And it’s not you, so …”

A year later, Boswell still can’t put his finger on what went wrong, how he followed a Pro-Bowl season that was rewarded with a five-year contract worth nearly $20 million.

“It’s just the ups and downs of a career, the ups and downs of a season,” said Boswell, who was 13 of 20 on field goals and 43 of 48 on extra points last season. “Last year, a lot of things didn’t go well for me, and this year they are. That’s really all it comes down to.”

That Boswell has returned to previous form is one of the most overshadowed storylines of the season, thanks to the starting quarterback carousel and an anemic offense. The Steelers have scored only one offensive touchdown in seven of their past eight games, giving Boswell more opportunities to kick field goals (28 of 30) than extra points (27 of 27) this season.

Boswell has nine games with multiple field goals, including three apiece against Baltimore, Cincinnati and Arizona and four against Indianapolis. Here is the biggest difference: Where he missed half his attempts from 40-49 yards last season, Boswell is 9 of 10 from that range this season.

“I’m doing my job,” Boswell said. “That’s what they expect of me here. That’s what they’ve relied on from me for the last five years. I’ve just got to stick with it.”

Boswell expressed his gratitude that the Steelers stuck with him despite calls for them to cut ties as he struggled last season. That was especially true when he slipped on a 40-yard field-goal attempt with 5 seconds left in regulation that could have tied the score at Oakland and forced overtime.

Tomlin didn’t hide his patience was wearing thin, but he defended Boswell because of his history of making so many winning kicks. That includes six field goals in an 18-16 victory at Kansas City in the divisional playoffs in January 2017, and winners as time expired against Green Bay and Cincinnati.

“That just shows you the experience and maturity they have upstairs,” Boswell said. “They don’t react on impulse. They don’t listen to fans or to this or that. That’s why the Steelers have been good for so many years. They have a belief system. A lot of organizations don’t and will can a guy after one bad game.

“They’ve got to expect everybody’s going to have one bad game in a season or a career. You’ve just got to ride it out. It just shows the level of organization that we have, and I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Boswell regained his role by beating out rookie Matthew Wright in a training-camp competition, then rewarded the Steelers for their faith in him by kicking fourth-quarter field goals in victories over the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers are holding out hope he has at least one more winner in him this year.

“It shows a lot of trust in them, and I had to earn that trust back,” Boswell said. “The last five years, I’ve had to earn their trust every week. Just because I had a good game last game and the game before doesn’t mean Sunday’s promised.”

Maybe not, but Boswell has proved this much: He has passed enough tests to earn the Steelers’ trust.

Now, he is kicking for keeps.

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