Suddenly, a Once-Reliable Viking Is Not So Reliable Anymore
The Minnesota Vikings have won their last nine games, and the most recent loss dates back to October 24. It’s fascinating to see Kevin O’Connell’s crew stack up wins like that, considering the lowered preseason expectations that arrived with Sam Darnold, especially when rookie J.J. McCarthy got hurt.
Suddenly, a Once-Reliable Viking Is Not So Reliable Anymore
On Sunday, numerous players had excellent games. First and foremost deserving of a mention is Darnold, who collected 377 passing yards and three touchdowns. His one lousy pass resulted in an interception, but he was lethal for the most part, finding, among others, Jalen Nailor for a touchdown, who is another winner from the win versus the Packers.
But there’s one guy who can’t be happy with his performance, and fans are beginning to get flashbacks to his unpleasant predecessors. Rookie Will Reichard missed two field goals, and he was bailed out on a third miss because of a flag for offside.
Reichard was a sixth-round pick in April’s draft, and he was phenomenal in his first seven games. In Week 9, however, Reichard missed a pair of field goals due to his quad injury that would rule him out for the following four contests because of a stint on IR. Parker Romo replaced him and did an excellent job.
The Vikings activated Reichard in time for the game against Kirk Cousins’ Falcons in Week 14. Since then, he has missed three field goals. Throughout the season, he is 21 of 26 (80.8%). Vikings fans started to buy into the thought of having a reliable kicker for the first time in a long time prior to the game against the Colts when he suffered his injury, and the issues began.
Folks surely want the automatic kicker from his first seven games back, who had not missed a kick. One aspect has remained automatic: Reichard has yet to miss an extra point and is 38 of 38 on the 33-yard PAT.
The good news is that his struggles include a kick that was just short from 57 yards out. He hit the crossbar on a kick that would’ve been good from about half a foot closer. It would also be unfair to blame him for the two missed kicks with a hurt quad. Suddenly, he is 21 of 23, missing kicks from 47 and 43, and a flawless extra-point resume.
After the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about his rookie kicker.
“I just told him, ‘Hey, the next one is going to be the best one.’ My confidence in Will is sky-high; he had an unbelievable session on Thursday when he was kicking. If we think we’re anywhere near the range, I’m going to give him a swing. He is a phenomenal, phenomenal kid, great makeup. The next kick is going to be his best kick, is how I look at it, and our team does as well.”
It is still too early to ring the alarm bells, but another missed kick ‒ especially from a feasible range ‒ will raise massive concerns.
Reichard will turn 24 in January, and the former Alabama kicker has performed in some high-leverage situations before. He showed in the first half of the season that he can be as reliable as it gets, so it’s fair to expect him to get back on track in time.
His next chance to drill some kicks will be on Sunday in a playoff-like contest against the Detroit Lions.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt