The Minnesota Vikings had two attempts to pull off game-winning drives in their two-week overseas trip, and they managed to complete one of them. Led by a perfect Carson Wentz late in the fourth quarter, the purple squad secured a victory over the Cleveland Browns and remains unbeaten in London.
NFL Has a Bizarre Response to a Recent Vikings Controversy
In that Browns game, all 21 points were scored via touchdowns (and the subsequent extra points). Kicker Will Reichard drilled all point-after attempts, but he missed his only field goal attempt.
Well, folks quickly realized that his field goal try hit the camera cable. The rulebook suggests that the kick should’ve been retaken. The game officials, however, missed it.
The latest developments in the case involve Reichard’s representatives, the Vikings and the NFL, as NFL reporter Jordan Schultz noted on Saturday: “Sources: #Vikings K Will Reichard’s agents and the team’s front office requested that the NFL remove his missed FG from last week’s London game after it clearly struck a camera cable, causing the ball to take an unnatural turn to the right. The NFL acknowledged it was a missed call but ruled they will not make the statistical adjustment.”
It was the first time the NFL acknowledged the mistake. The kick was a 51-yarder, and it turns out it was his first and only miss through the first five games of the season. He has hit all 11 extra points and all other eight field goals, including a franchise record from 62 yards.
The miss remains in the Reichard history books.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said earlier this week, “But other than maybe somebody in the booth alerting me that they saw it, or Will himself is going to be a critical guy in that moment, but a lot of times a kicker is a lot like a golf swing, they’re keeping their head down and they might not see it initially. He told me he thought he hit it well, and Will doesn’t end up that far off line, historically, since our time having him here. But yeah, not really sure what to say on that one other than that was unfortunate if it did happen, and if it didn’t, so be it.”
Neither O’Connell nor Reichard nor anyone in the booth saw the infraction.
The club doesn’t need to freak out about the situation because they won the game. Had they not pulled off the game-winning drive, the Vikings would’ve lost by three instead of going to overtime, with the Reichard kick adding three points. Wentz finding Jordan Addison for six points in the final minute calmed the situation.
Reichard started his NFL career hot; similarly, this season, he hit every kick. In a midseason game against the Indianapolis Colts, he suffered a quad injury and missed a pair of field goals. That issue cost him four games, and after his return, he lost his groove.
He kicked through those concerns and ultimately got back on track.
A few weeks back, when Reichard set the new franchise record, O’Connell commented, “I mean, you guys saw it, to hit it [from] 62 [yards], darn near halfway up the net is something else. And I got so much confidence in Will, it’s almost dangerous.”
Reichard, 24, is Minnesota’s best bet in a while to overcome the kicker curse.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
