Just five made field goals away from tying the Cowboys record of his position coach, Chris Boniol, kicker Dan Bailey is currently on the greatest run of his career.
At Oklahoma State, he nailed 10 straight field goals leading up to the Holiday Bowl his sophomore year, and won the Lou Groza Award as a senior on the strength of 20 straight makes between the end of his junior season and the first half of his senior year.
The operative question now is how to keep the roll going for as long as possible.
"I've never hit 22 in a row," Bailey said. "But, you have times where you can string a couple of kicks together, and you've got some pretty good confidence going out there, so you've kind of got to take it in stride, just go out there and approach it the same."
Bailey got off to a very hot start in training camp, then went cold for a while, and didn't have chances to kick early in the preseason. Now he hasn't missed since Week 2. His plan for keeping the steak alive is the same as it would be normally, to simply to keep his leg fresh and his head clear during the days leading up to a game.
"I think it really comes down to preparation during the week," Bailey said. "Limiting reps, but also getting good reps practice-wise, and just mentally, staying focused, you can't start slacking off whenever you string a couple together like that. You've got to stay sharp and prepare like you should every week.
"The main thing is just putting points on the board whenever the offense needs it."
