Five extra points: Will Reichard may have bigger concern than misses while an old Vikings concern remains
The Vikings rookie kicker missed his first two kicks of the season and needs an MRI for answers about a quad injury. The team’s interior offensive line, meanwhile, had no answers for the Colts’ pass rush.
1. Reichard to get MRI on ‘quad issue’
Will Reichard’s first bad night could get worse Monday. The rookie kicker, whose perfect start to the season ended with two misses in the first half, said he’s “been dealing with a little bit of a quad issue.”
“I got to go get an MRI [Monday] to see how bad it is,” he added.
Reichard was 34-for-34 on all kicks before missing wide right from 53 yards. “I thought I hit it well,” he said. “Just pushed it a little bit.” He then hit the right upright on a 31-yard attempt. “Too much of a tentative swing” because of the quad issue, he said. “Unacceptable to miss one that short.” Coach Kevin O’Connell is an un-Viking-like 13-1 when his kicker misses. And he hasn’t lost a game because of a missed kick.
2. Old issues return early to interior O-line
All eyes were on new left tackle Cam Robinson when one of the Vikings’ oldest ongoing problems — an interior offensive line prone to being overpowered by big tackles — took center stage as the Vikings were booed off the field while trailing 7-0 at halftime. Left guard Blake Brandel was run over by Raekwon Davis, causing Sam Darnold to scramble to his left, leading to the woeful red-zone interception on the first possession. Center Garrett Bradbury was knocked on his backside immediately by Grover Stewart on Stewart’s strip-sack that led to a fumble return for a touchdown on the third possession. The Colts’ front four showed the Vikings why Indy needs to blitz only 15% of the time, less than every team but Jacksonville.
O’Connell thought Stewart should have been flagged for hitting Darnold in the head and neck on the strip sack. “I did think there was a potential discussion to be had on the fumble,” O’Connell said. “Just to get a little more clarity on the protection of our quarterback.”
3. JJ, TJ and JA together — finally
Sunday was just the sixth time the Vikings had Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson start and end a game together. The first drive of the second half showed what they’re capable of. Jefferson caught two balls for 22 yards and a first down. Hockenson caught one for 19 yards and a first down. And Addison, forgotten of late, caught an 11-yard pass on third-and-9 from the Colts 15 and then a 4-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone.
“Those three guys are what we want to build our offense around with Aaron Jones and our running game,” O’Connell said. “We got a lot of weapons. We just need to trust that if we get 11 guys executing, we’re going to have a good play.”
In their last game together — Dec. 16, 2023, at Cincinnati — JJ, T.J. and JA were targeted 23 times with 19 catches for 258 yards and two Addison TDs. Sunday, they were targeted 18 times with 15 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown. Jefferson had nine targets with seven catches for 137 yards. Playing six games alongside both T.J. and JA, Jefferson has averaged 11 targets, 7.8 catches and 127.3 yards.
