Things went from bad to worse for Dallas kicker Brett Maher during his first field goal against San Francisco on Sunday.

After dropping four field goals against Tampa Bay the week before — setting an NFL record — Maher’s first try against the 49ers was low and locked Samson Ebucam.

Although Maher probably didn’t feel good about the play, the Texas governor seemed to practically kick him while he was on his feet.

“I swear I can hit as good as a Dallas Cowboys Kicker,” Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Abbott has been using a wheelchair since he was 26 when a tree fell on him while jogging.

The tweet has since gone viral, garnering over 17 million views, 18,000 retweets and 120,000 likes in about 12 hours.

The post seemed to stun supporters and detractors alike, with many wondering if the tweet was legitimate.

“Had to double check it was a real account,” sports producer Bobby Belt tweeted.

The tweet was sent from Abbott’s personal account @Greg Abbott_TX. Twitter account @GovAbbott is the official ribbon of the office of the Governor of Texas.

Many people found the tweet funny and honest.

“We usually disagree with our governor…but today we do.” -El Paso County Libertarian Party, Texas published“, while others said: “Niiiice!!! You are my hero, sir! and “Tweet of the day!”

Others criticized the post, saying that Abbott himself missed out on several major political successes in his career.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a politician scold his state team while the playoff game is still going on. Of course Abbott is an unparalleled jerk, so maybe it’s a good policy,” one person tweeted.

Others said, “In the winter, you can’t even turn on the light switch for us” and “I swear a Dallas Cowboys kicker wouldn’t leave scantily clad families in sub-zero weather with no resources.”

But he wasn’t the only Texas official to publicly criticize the kicker on Sunday.

“Attention @dallascowboysA: This is your MAYOR speaking. HIT NO MORE! #CowboyNationDallas Mayor Eric Johnson Tweeted. “You can support your kicker and empathize with him without thinking that relying on his foot in this game is a good idea. It’s not personal. This is football. I think Maher was great for us, but we should go for 2 and go for this on 4 and then leave today.”

Johnson tweeted that even if the soccer ball hadn’t been blocked, it probably wouldn’t have gone through the goalposts.

Luckily for Maher and the Cowboys Nation, his later attempts succeeded.

He made his first field goal attempt in the third quarter when he converted for 25 yards and then added 43 yards in the fourth quarter.

These were his first — and last — successful field goals in the postseason as the Cowboys lost to the 49ers 19–12.

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