Missed Kicks Lead to Missed Opportunity in Week 2 with Bills on Deck
Tim Thompson
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Think back to that final exam that might as well have been written in Sanskrit because the test for which you prepared bore no resemblance to the test for which you had to prepare. Or how about that big job interview where you practiced your clever answers to their anticipated questions only to find out that nerves blanked your brain and dried your throat to the point where you croaked out a rambling diatribe that ran the gamut from awkward to downright uncomfortable. Of course, there are other instances too numerous to mention in all of our lives but at least our faux pas are private, the kind we agonizingly replay in our own minds which always seem to elicit a mild case of Tourette’s in which we curse out loud as if we could will away our mistakes and get a mulligan, a re-do, like a bad shot in golf that we decided not to count.
Minnesota’s rookie kicker Daniel Carlson had such a day against the Packers only his failures were far from private and the three missed field goals won’t only be replayed in his mind but on SportsCenter, talk radio, and in every media outlet that covers our beloved Vikings including this one. All would have been forgiven had Carlson nailed the third and final field goal attempt which would have broken the 29-29 tie and given the Vikings an enormous road win against their ancient rivals from Green Bay. But it was not to be as both of his overtime field goal attempts were missed as well as his lone effort in regulation.
This is the stuff of a Hollywood movie where Carlson would ultimately learn that his potentially career killing gaffes paled in comparison to other real-world problems like, oh I don’t know, war, famine, and pestilence? In the minds of Purple Nation, each missed field goal felt like one of the aforementioned plagues. Who knows how Carlson will deal with this throughout the week but let’s not pine for the days of yore when Kai Forbath was booting for the Vikings. Forbath also missed his share of heartbreakers last season which is why he is not only out of a job in Minnesota but currently out of the league. There were some positive takeaways in the gut-wrenching tie to Green Bay but for now, we’ll mourn the victory that failed to materialize and wonder if Carlson could’ve been the man for the job eventually under different circumstances. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for the Vikings, one of the top kickers in NFL history in Dan Bailey was not only available but willing to spurn a few other teams to come to Minnesota. That’s not something we’re used to here in Minnesota, so it’s all basically a silver lining to the gut-punch of an ending that Sunday’s tie was.
As the Vikings prepare to welcome the Buffalo Bills to Minneapolis in Week 3, it’s time to check out what the oddsmakers are dealing at BetOnline one of the most trusted and respected online sportsbooks in the industry according to the review.. Minnesota is shaping up as sizeable favorites against a team in Buffalo that has failed to show up in both of their games in the early going. Granted, the Bills looked marginally better in their 31-20 loss to the Chargers last week but let’s face it, they had nowhere else to go but up after getting shellacked by the Ravens 47-3 in their opener.
Minnesota should be well equipped to handle Buffalo and if there is any silver lining to the disappointing loss – er, tie – to the Packers it is the play of Kirk Cousins. The 30-year-old veteran tossed for four touchdowns and three of those came in the fourth quarter to get his team in a position to win the game. When the dust settled Cousins passed for a whopping 425 yards and looks increasingly comfortable in a Vikings uniform. Sure, Carlson failed to seal the deal but had it not been for Cousins’ heroics there would have been no overtime and thus no possibility of the rookie kicker snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Get on over to BetOnline and watch Minnesota makes us forget all about the tie last week with a win and a cover this week against the Bills.