The Vikings Have a Problem to Solve at a Critical Position
Let’s assume that Sam Darnold will bounce back for the Vikings. The veteran has had a strong season overall, proving to be resilient and capable of overcoming the pressure at various points.
Can we say the same at kicker?
Right now, the excellent start to the season feels far off for rookie Will Reichard. The No. 203 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft began his year flawlessly for several weeks before succumbing to a quad injury that put him on the IR. Prior to the IR placement and since coming back, Reichard hasn’t been the same automatic kicker. Is that going to be an issue as the playoffs arrive?
The Vikings Have a Problem at Kicker
By definition, the playoffs are where the NFL’s best teams do battle in a tournament that will eventually lead to one squad hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. The games can often be very tight as evenly-matched opponents seek to gain any edge possible.
Specials teams can be forgotten when discussing these games, but anyone who watched the Week 18 Vikings loss will be able to tell you how important that phase of the game is. Prior to the half, Reichard kicked the ball out of bounds on the kickoff, giving the Lions the ball at the 40. The end result was some positive plays from the Lions offense before a successful field goal going into the half.
Even worse, there was another missed field goal from Reichard. Yes, it came from 50+, but it wasn’t particularly close.
Add up all the stats over the course of the season and Reichard has finished off his debut year in the NFL in an average-to-above-average manner, at least in terms of rookie expectations. He went 24/30 on field goals, which works out to a relatively poor 80% conversion rate. Ironically, the FG% puts him in a tie with Greg Joseph — the specialist Minnesota moved on from in favor of Reichard — for 25th in the NFL.
The upside is that he’s flawless on extra points, going a perfect 38/38.
The other facet of his job is handling kickoffs, which hasn’t seemed to be much of an issue all year. He has booted 74 kickoffs and 62 have gone for touchbacks. There’s plenty of leg strength to send the ball well into the endzone. Matt Daniels will be looking to ensure that there isn’t another instance where his K1 sends the ball out of bounds, especially in an end-of-the-half scenario.
In Week 17, Will Reichard missed a pair of kicks against the Packers. Minnesota still pulled off the win. In Week 18, Will Reichard missed a kick in what proved to be a losing effort against the Lions. To be sure, the Vikings needed far more than those three points to emerge victorious in the 31-9 defeat — no one beats the Lions on just field goals — but the miss is a reminder that the automatic kicker from the beginning of the season is now struggling.
The Los Angeles Rams are a good, not great, football team. At 10-7, LA will give Minnesota all it can handle, but we should remember that we’re talking about a team with a season-long -19 point differential. The Vikings should be able to pull off the road win.
One way of undermining what should happen, though, is shoddy special teams play. O’Connell, Daniels, and Reichard will need to put in a great week of preparation so that Minnesota advances past the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
After “Disappointing Effort,” The Vikings Face a Mountain of Pressure
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
