No NFL player’s fortunes can rise and fall and faster than those of a field-goal kicker.

Mike Nugent was a case in point Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.

With 3:05 left in the game against Miami, Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis put the outcome in Nugent’s hands — or, to be more exact, on his foot.

And what a foot it has been.

The former Centerville High School and Ohio State star set a Bengals record last season with 33 field goals, including late-game winners against Buffalo and Cleveland. The club thought so much of him it designated him its franchise player in 2012.

This season he had made the first nine field goals he attempted – including two in the first quarter Sunday.

And yet, some 20 seconds after Lewis had sent Nugent trotting out onto the field, there was the veteran kicker back on the sidelines, slumped of the team’s metal bench with no one – and I mean no one – sitting within 15 feet on either side.

His two sidekicks – long snapper Clark Harris and holder Kevin Huber — were not huddled with him as they usually are during the game. Instead, they stood together at the far end of the bench and didn’t really look his way.

No one did.

With just over three minutes left, the Bengals – who were trailing 17-13 – faced fourth-and-five at the Dolphins’ 23-yard line. Although some Cincinnati players – including quarterback Andy Dalton – thought Lewis would opt to go for the first down and eventually the go-ahead touchdown, the coach decided Nugent was their best option.

He could kick the 41-yarder, then if the Bengals defense could hold, Cincinnati would get the ball back one last time. And then Dalton would just have to guide the Bengals into field-goal range again, so Nugent could kick the winner.

On paper it certainly sounded possible.

But many in the crowd of 61,162 booed the decision. That was a lot of ifs and, as the old saw goes, there’s no such thing as an easy kick.

Teams call timeout to ice you. There’s wind. There’s a chance of a block. And the mechanics of the snapper, holder and kicker all must be without flaw.

Nugent, though, liked the idea:

“I totally agreed with the logic of it. I thought there was plenty of time. I’d been hitting the ball well. So I’d hit this field goal, then I‘d get a touchback when I kicked off, our defense would force them into a three-and-out and hopefully we could get the ball back down the field just enough for me to win it.”

But then he pushed that first field goal attempt wide right.

The score remained 17-13.

The defense then did its part, forcing Miami to punt after one first down. But the script now was changed. Dalton had to lead the team 80 yards for a touchdown and instead – four plays later – he threw an interception.

Miami won, 17-13.

Afterward, Nugent – win or lose, he’s always a stand-up guy – shouldered far more blame than he should have:

“I’m just really disappointed,” he said as he stood at his locker, again with no one around him. “A kick like that put Andy and the rest of the offense in terrible position.

“Things had been going very well for me and I guess I just assumed it was gonna happen automatically and I let my focus get away from me.

“Everything was perfect from me – my alignment and all that – but I didn’t like how it came off my toe. It was a weak hit. I think I kind of tried to baby it, to guide it through the uprights rather than just kick it solid.

“After I hit it, I kept my head down, but when I finally looked up I knew there was a good chance it was too far right.”

When he came to the sidelines, he said the other guys knew it was best to give him a little space:

“They’ve been with me a long time. They know I’m my own worst critic. So they let me sit there. I don’t analyze it like crazy, but I think about it a little. And I make sure I don’t wallow in it. I’ve been around enough to know something can happen and we can get the ball right back and I’m going to have to go out and kick one again. Your head has to be right.”

He said that’s all part of the tightrope walk that every NFL kicker must make.

“There are days when you do what everybody asks,” he said. “Those are the fun days. The days when everybody’s happy with you.”

He’s had plenty of those in an All-America, record-setting effort at Ohio State and then in an NFL career that began eight seasons ago when he was a high draft pick of the New York Jets. He had some great seasons there, so much so that David Letterman even had him on as a Late Show guest and had him kick a ball through a 12th floor window pane in the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Then came injuries, he was cut by the Jets, lasted a short while with Tampa Bay and Arizona and then bounced through unsuccessful tryouts with a handful of other NFL teams. Three seasons ago he came to the Bengals – the team he rooted for as a kid – and found a home and great success again.

He said he’s been around enough that he understands days like Sunday:

“I used to be one of those guys who went home after something like this and didn’t want to see anyone, didn’t want to talk to anyone. Now I’m not saying I’m gonna smile much right after this, but I can’t wait to get home and watch film of this.

“What’s great is they give us these iPads. It’s probably on there now. So I’ll watch it and see what I did wrong. Then I’ll hang out with my wife. I’ll come in Monday and go to the weight room and when I get back Wednesday I’ll be back ready to move on.”

Four days after that there’s another game.

And once again it’ll be time to get up there on that tightrope.