Fans roast Cowboys as kicker Brandon Aubrey costs extra points for franchise - "Ghost of Brett Maher still haunts Dallas"

The first Sunday Night Football game is finally here, and Brandon Aubrey has provided an early addition to the blooper reel.

In the first quarter of a rainy game against the New York Giants on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys made an early-season reel-worthy play when their special teams unit blocked a field goal attempt:

However, Aubrey missed the extra point, leading to mockery across Twitter. One fan tweeted:

"The Gost of Brett Maher still haunts Dallas. Another missed XP"

---

Who is Brandon Aubrey? Dallas Cowboys kicker's career in detail

While Brett Maher was solid during the previous regular season, he proved otherwise in the postseason.

He missed his first four extra point attempts in the Wild Card win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the Divisional Round loss against the San Francisco 49ers, he missed his only extra point attempt. That caused the Dallas Cowboys to seek a replacement in the preseason.

The said replacement, Brandon Aubrey, comes from a rather unique background. Before he played gridiron, he was a soccer defender. He began his collegiate athletic career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's soccer, scoring 15 goals in 76 appearances. Later, he had stints with MLS's Toronto FC and the United Soccer League's Bethlehem Steel.

Little is known about where Aubrey played between 2019 and 2021, but in 2022, he made his gridiron debut with the USFL's Birmingham Stallions. Over two seasons, he scored 153 points, won two titles and reached an All-USFL Team.

Thanks to his impressive performances, the Stallions allowed him to leave for the chance to try out for the NFL. Aubrey was soon taken in by the Cowboys and was pitted against Tristan Vizcaino, whom he eventually beat for the starting spot.

Last week, Mike McCarthy said his new kicker reminded him of his former team's legendary kicker:

"The talent is there; he reminds me of a young Mason Crosby. I hope he has the same start to his career as Mason did.... I feel good about him. He has an arsenal of kicks, which is important. I think that itself shows an ability to control the football. I have been very pleased with him."

Brandon Aubrey would redeem himself later in the first quarter, though, with a field goal and an extra point off the Daron Bland pick-six:

The player has since made another field goal and extra point in the second quarter.