The Vikings got the win they needed against the Packers last Sunday, but the outing wasn’t without its rough spots.
A couple of them came on kicks by rookie Will Reichard. Reichard missed from 57 and 43 yards and he got a reprieve on a missed 55-yard try when the Packers were flagged for being offside. Reichard hit from 50 and made another field goal attempt, but multiple misses in any game is never a good look.
It’s a particularly concerning development with the playoffs around the corner and special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said on Tuesday that they want the sixth-round pick “poised through the noise” at this point in the year.
“As we get into these more tighter games, as you’re building to it, every point is gonna truly start to matter here . . . so when he does miss that type of kick, he understands what the result is and how it can kind of effect the turnout of the game,” Daniels said, via Emily Leiker of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “It doesn’t weigh on him from a mental standpoint, but he does kind of feel it.”
Reichard missed four games with a quad injury earlier this year, but Daniels said he does not believe the kicker’s health contributed to the missed tries. Reichard is 21-of-26 on field goals and 38-of-38 on extra points this season.
