The Vikings have A TON of needs this offseason and every single draft pick and dollar of cap space has massive implications…

But if they trade for Jonathan Taylor I’m going to get a Super Bowl tattoo immediately.

— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) October 19, 2026

ESPN ranks the Vikings as the fourth best team in the league in their latest power rankings:

“The Vikings spent the five games before their bye searching for smooth air offensively. There were plenty of reasons for that, but the biggest was simply health-related personnel…

— SleeperVikings (@SleeperVikings) October 20, 2026

Nolan Teasley you could have statues built for you… https://t.co/ORtLIVXIzY

— SleeperVikings (@SleeperVikings) October 19, 2026

#Vikings RB Jordan Mason returns at a perfect time for Minnesota. 27 should take a majority of the workload against the #Colts this weekend.

Need both Mason & Jones fresh for the Lions - Bills - Packers - 49ers stretch. #SKOL pic.twitter.com/TTo4vnA47k

— Vikes\/erified (@VikesVV) October 19, 2026

Colts at Vikings Week - 1961. In the Viking Franchises's inaugural season, Minnesota picks up one of their 3 wins against the Colts. In a close game, the Vikings shut-down Johnny Unitas (31 QB Rating) in the 28-20 win. pic.twitter.com/hEaSF5Bx5E

— VikeFans (@VikeFans) October 19, 2026

Colts at Vikings Week 1964 - On Opening Day, RBs Tommy Mason and Bill Brown both rush for over 100 yards and MIN outguns BALT 463 yards to 230 AND win the turnover battle 3-1. Vikes never trail and win 34-24. @Fran_Tarkenton pic.twitter.com/V6SBUW7COu

— VikeFans (@VikeFans) October 19, 2026

Colts at Vikings Week 1964 - Photo OP - Gorgeous shots of Tommy Mason in the 1964 game - these were taken for a profile to be done on Mason for Sports Illustrated. pic.twitter.com/GR11TMg6TF

— VikeFans (@VikeFans) October 19, 2026

Colts at Vikings Week - 1967 - Some photos from the game, the game program & ticket stub. One of the rare games we do not have film of that is clean. It was a tie game 20-20. Colts were undefeated coming in and Vikes had just 1 win. MIN would be in SB IV two years later. pic.twitter.com/EzdrvM2cgd

— VikeFans (@VikeFans) October 19, 2026

Colts at Vikings Week - 1969. Joe Kapp throws for a still record 7 TD passes (449 yds) in this game. While 7 other QBs share the record, he was the 1st in NFL History. Gene Washington caught 6 for 172 & 2 scores. Vikes bomb the Colts 52-14 - revenge for the 1968 playoff loss pic.twitter.com/Dnw8St8z66

— VikeFans (@VikeFans) October 19, 2026

Relevant news here. Vikings host the Colts on Sunday. https://t.co/GtExZbf9kr

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) October 19, 2026

#Colts QB Daniel Jones has struggled against pressure this season, which is GREAT news for the #Vikings in Week 7 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/rtbIXRolPX

— The Viking Age (@TheVikingAge) October 19, 2026

#Vikings fans look ahead to the Colts game coming out of the bye in this week's mailbag.

📰: https://t.co/PRJsjD2y6f pic.twitter.com/4VwdYWrVbD

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 19, 2026

The 5-0 Minnesota Vikings are returning to action this week by hosting the Colts (2-4) at noon (CT) Sunday, Oct. 25, and will try to extend their NFL-leading win streak to 11 games.

"Voice of the Vikings" Paul Allen, who is in his 25th season as the play-by-play announcer for the Vikings Audio Network, will sound the Gjallarhorn before his 500th game on the call.

It's quite fitting that Allen, who launched his career calling horseraces and incorporated that style into football games, will hit the milestone with Minnesota hosting a team from a city also famous for 500 and with a nickname inspired by horseracing. I'll have a write-up this week in which Allen reflects on the opportunity.

Lastly, the next milestone starting to appear on the green road sign is the NFL's trade deadline, which is 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

People are wondering if the Vikings become buyers to further supplement their roster.

The early indications of Nolan Teasley's tenure as General Manager are that Minnesota will continue to do whatever the team thinks it can to continue strengthening the roster, whether that involves buying or swapping.

https://www.vikings.com/news/bye-colts-weeek-7-2026-fan-mailbag

Craig Peters

Editing Director & Quality Control

Bill Arnsparger and the 1972 Dolphins "No Name Defense" are considered one of the best overall defensive units in NFL history. Looking back at the first five games in 1972 and comparing them to the 2026 Minnesota Vikings led by Brian Flores, both teams started the regular season at 5-0.

Both defenses allowed 64 points (12.8 PPG)

Here is how some of the key positions compare:

Safety: Jake Scott – Harrison Smith
MLB: Nick Buoniconti – Blake Cashman
Safety: Dick Anderson – Joshua Metellus
DL: Manny Fernandez – Jalen Redmond
OLB: Doug Swift and Bob Matheson – Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner

Part of a great defense includes special teams, and the 2026 Vikings special teams unit holds up against any team. Will Reichard and Myles Price have both been outstanding.

Brian Flores deserves immense credit for the job he is doing. As a lifelong Vikings fan, I am proud of the team's direction. The leadership from Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores shows that teamwork across all three phases is essential to winning. The team is built on a strong running game with three good running backs, complemented by a passing game that continues to grow alongside it.

I love the team we are building in 2026.

SKOL,

— Larry Lujan in Henderson, Nevada

This seems like a great place to start, given Arnsparger was the defensive line coach of the Baltimore Colts (1964-69) before becoming the defensive coordinator of the Dolphins, a role he held for four seasons that included three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, wins in VII and VIII and the unblemished 1972 season.

It's beyond my purview to comment too much on the inner-workings and effectiveness of that squad, but the results are indisputable.

Minnesota's defense and special teams have fueled this 5-0 start, and Reichard and Price continued right where they left off in 2025, helping with scoring opportunities from considerable lengths and field position while the offense has been working to coalesce and offsetting injuries.

Flores and O'Connell are quite a combination, and they enjoy getting together each week so O'Connell can formulate the overall game plan after incorporating defensive thoughts from Flores.

We really get this menace back with a healthy Jets and Murray 😈🔥 pic.twitter.com/HsJdPJNA0A

— Vikings Pro 🏈 (@TheBoxingPro) October 20, 2026

“This last game … It’s why they brought Kyler [Murray] to Minnesota.”

—@athielen19 on his former team’s undefeated start and what the QB means to the Vikings 💪 pic.twitter.com/Nom86hQ6sX

— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) October 20, 2026

https://vikingsterritory.com/2026/news/opinion/3-areas-vikings-bye-week

3 Areas the Vikings Need to Improve Coming Out of the Bye Week

The Minnesota Vikings might be 5-0, but there is always room for improvement. This team has plenty of room for growth as it comes out of the bye week.

3 Areas the Vikings Need to Improve Coming Out of the Bye Week

The Vikings defense has been the best in the league through five weeks, and the special teams unit hasn’t been far behind. There are still things in those two areas that can be tightened up for even more improvement, but let’s be real: the Vikings need major improvement on one side of the ball. The offense has to come out of the bye looking a lot better. There are reasons to be optimistic that this will happen and these are three key areas that will need to show improvement.

Scoring Touchdowns

The Vikings’ total of nine touchdowns was the third lowest across the league at the end of Week 5. Only the Miami Dolphins (7) and Tennessee Titans (6) had scored fewer. Of the Vikings’ nine touchdowns, five have come from a pass, three from a rush, and one from a punt return. Failing to finish drives has been an issue and two lost fumbles while in the red zone against the New Orleans Saints compounded the problem.

Minnesota has been fortunate enough to be able to rely on the perfect kicking of Will Reichard so far this season but they’ve got some tough games coming up against some strong offenses. Good defense and field goals might not be enough. The offense needs to step up and take some of the pressure off of the other two units. It’s time to start getting six points on the board more regularly. The second key area of improvement should help with this.

Get Healthy

Injuries are part of the game but so far this season the injury bug has hit some of the Vikings’ most key players. As can often seem to be the case, the area of the team that is struggling – the offense – gets all the big injuries. The good news is that only one of the injuries is currently terminal, with promising left guard Donovan Jackson out for the season with a torn meniscus in his knee. Kyler Murray and Justin Jefferson are both back on the field after missing decent portions of the first five games. Their growing connection will be vital to the offense’s success this season.

Coming out of the bye week the Vikings will hope to have a boost on the offensive line with a return of Christian Darrisaw following a concussion. They will also hope TJ Hockenson returns from the same issue, though fellow tight end, Josh Oliver is unlikely to return from a torn biceps before any potential playoff run. Jordan Addison also missed the last game with a hamstring injury, which hopefully was more precautionary than long-term. Finally, Jordan Mason should be far away after having surgery on a fractured thumb suffered in Week 1.

Start Fast on Offense

There has been a lot of heavy leaning on the defense so far this season, and they have been able to slowly build into games on offense. Oftentimes, Minnesota has put points on the board later in games. The slow starts from the offense aren’t new to this season and have been a running trend for a while and it needs improving.

Kevin O’Connell has all week to draw up a game plan for how his offense will start a game and we need to start seeing more points on the board in the first two drives of the game. That needs to start in Week 7 when the Vikings host the Indianapolis Colts at US Bank Stadium. An early lead and some momentum can change how the game proceeds.

https://vikingsterritory.com/2026/news/top_news/as-expected-vikings-pull-rb

All along, the expectation has been for the Vikings to bring Jordan Mason off the IR to get back to supporting the squad in Week 7. Minnesota has taken the first step toward that becoming a reality.

On Monday, the Vikings pulled the first lever by designating Mason to return to practice. Consider what the team’s official social media had to say: “RB Jordan Mason has been Designated for Return; Return to Practice.” So far, all that’s been done has been to officially allow the hulking runner to come back to practice. What remains to be seen is if he’ll get activated off the IR and onto the 53-man roster, a decision that’ll be needed prior to getting him onto the field.

Vikings Pull First Lever to Add RB Reinforcements

Coming into the season, Mr. Mason was said to be in terrific shape. Many, myself included, felt like he was cruising toward a breakout season as a contract-year player who is only 27.

A small fracture in his thumb put those plans on hold.

The Week 1 win over the Packers was a wild one. Initially, nothing was going right for the Vikings as Green Bay climbed to a large lead. But then the dam broke after waves and waves of pressure from that Brian Flores defense kept crashing against an overwhelmed Green Bay protection. The defense was so dominant that the offense was gifted tremendous field position several times, leading to a 39-22 victory. Mason, among others, was the beneficiary.

At his best, Jordan Mason is a powerful, slashing runner. He doesn’t have the power of Derrick Henry or the gliding elegance of Jamaal Charles. What he has is some mixture whereby he can slither through a crease before then creaming the defender who is looking to tackle him.

In that Week 1 Packers game, Mason finished his day with 15 carries for 59 yards and a score. Mason’s 3.9 yards-per-carry average isn’t great but he got better as the game went.

Last year was Mason’s opening season with a horn on his helmet. In his sixteen games, Mason’s 159 carries went for 758 yards and 6 touchdowns. His 4.8 yards-per-carry average from the ’25 season was very healthy and the sort of average that Minnesota wants out of its runner. Anything within the vicinity of 5 yards per carry is like a hitter in baseball being at .300.

Crucially, the return of Jordan Mason is going to mean lifting a burden off Aaron Jones. The former Packer averaged more than 20 touches per game from Week 2 to Week 5, the games when Mason was on the IR. There’s no exaggerating when saying that Minnesota isn’t sitting at 5-0 without some terrific football from Jones.

In Week 7, a Colts team that’s in disarray is coming to the Twin Cities. Indianapolis is sitting at 2-4 and just fired GM Chris Ballard, creating organizational instability that could spur a resurgence or prefigure a complete collapse.

No doubt, Coach Flores is going to keep the chaos cooking in his cauldron of madness. What every DC will say, though, is that a potent ground attack is to be coveted. Jordan Mason, then, is going to be a key piece of the puzzle for a Vikings squad that’s looking to climb up to 6-0.

Mason, 27, is expected to be healthy and ready to roll in time for kickoff on Sunday, October 25th.

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝟕 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞
The Vikings are seeking their third straight victory over the Colts. In the their most recent matchup in 2024, WR Justin Jefferson threw a pass to RB Aaron Jones Sr., a 22-yard completion and the fifth completed pass of his career. pic.twitter.com/jqgeNRQYXO

— Vikings Communications (@VikingsPR) October 19, 2026

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝟕 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞
The Vikings are seeking their third straight victory over the Colts. In the their most recent matchup in 2024, WR Justin Jefferson threw a pass to RB Aaron Jones Sr., a 22-yard completion and the fifth completed pass of his career. pic.twitter.com/jqgeNRQYXO

— Vikings Communications (@VikingsPR) October 19, 2026

Will Reichard has Vikings fans rethinking their view on kickers

Since the beginning of 2025, Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard has made 48 of 50 field goals. Out of those makes, 18 of them have come from 50+ yards and this year he’s averaging 10.6 points per game.

Against the Chicago Bears, he made a kick in the rain to put the Vikings up six points, which forced the Bears to aim for a touchdown with backup Tyson Bagent in the game. Against the Saints, he put the game on ice with a 50+ kick to put the Vikings up by 10.

Vikings fans have an unfortunate relationship with kickers because two of the biggest disappointments in the team’s history have involved kicking. Yet there has been a noticeable shift in fans’ attitude toward the craft during Reichard’s time in purple. You see Reichard jerseys at US Bank Stadium. Fans turn him into memes every week — in a good way — because of his innocent look and stone cold mentality.

Simply put: Vikings fans have a kicker they can wrap their arms around and believe in despite their trauma.

Why is Reichard so different in their eyes? They have had a number of quality kickers in the past and none have received the benefit of the doubt like him.

In order to find out, I called seven Vikings fans who are enamoured with Reichard to find out why they see him as the kicker who has changed everything.

Here are their stories…

Drew from Iowa

As a 42-year old Vikings fan, Drew is the perfect age to have Gary Anderson’s missed kick in the NFC Championship game hurt the most. He was just old enough to still believe in magic and not old enough yet to be jaded by gestures at everything.

“They had never been a real championship contender in my life until then and when you’re 14 years old, you think it’s going to happen,” Drew said. “That was the first crushing disappointment that I had.”

Drew went to games at the Metrodome with his grandfather when he was growing up. His dad is a Packers fan, though he still felt bad for his 14-year-old kid when Anderson’s boot drifted wide to the left.

Years later, Drew found himself inside TCF Stadium for the Vikings’ playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. It was a badge of honor to have been there for one of the coldest games of all time and when Teddy Bridgewater found Kyle Rudolph on a pass over the middle that put the Vikings in field goal range, he thought he’d be telling the tale of Vikings victory for many years to come.

“It was definitely going to be like one of those like mountaintop fan experiences because it was so cold….like you really like have your fan badge on that you endured that and it was going to be a win until it wasn’t,” Drew said.

Drew recalls the disbelief of Vikings fans leaving the stadium that day.

“One of the real memories of that day is walking back to the car after the game and everybody was coping with it in a different way,” Drew said. “Like every like 15 seconds, you’d like hear somebody else just go, ‘I can’t believe you missed that!’ Everybody was just like processing it like out loud, whether it was you with your friend or you’d hear other groups of people just like, just cursing them out.”

That’s enough of a traumatic experience to feel sketchy about kickers, especially since Walsh went 34-for-39 in 2015.

But Drew is all-in on Will Reichard.

The first part of his explanation is that he doesn’t buy into the idea that there are spooky forces at play that cause Vikings kicks to go wide to the left.

“I know I’m a Vikings fan, so I should believe curses exist,” Drew said. “But at some point, it has to be different. I think that’s part of the point of being a fan is you’ve got to have that belief that it’s going to be different at some point in time was otherwise, what are we doing here? Like why, why would we cheer for something that we don’t think is ultimately going to pay off at some point in time?”

Beyond Drew talking himself out of the kicker boogeyman existing, he sees something in Reichard that didn’t exist for previous kickers.

“Will’s different,” Drew said. “He just seems to be on a different planet. It feels like you truly have the best kicker in the league and the best kicker, maybe ever. It’s not like he’s scraping the crossbar, [the kicks] are straight down the middle for the most part and carrying the crossbar by 10 to 15 yards every time. He just seems like a... Almost like a robot out there.”

While Reichard is indeed a real person, his consistency is machine-like. He’s made 24-of-29 kicks from 50+ yards in his career and he’s 48-of-50 in the last two years. One of those misses (probably) hit a TV cable and the other was in a hurry-up situation where they couldn’t sub in the K-ball.

For Drew, it’s not just the results of Reichard’s kicks, it’s his demeanor as well.

“He never looks anxious,” Drew said. “He just sort of has this very relaxed manner about him and very matter-of-fact. I feel like that plays into it.”

Drew points out that in postgame locker room videos, Reichard has little-to-no reaction to getting game balls from Kevin O’Connell. He expects to be this good, Drew surmises.

“The way he carries himself on the field, and even the other day when he kind of was mixing it up on the field a little bit, he gives you that perception of, ‘hey, I’m a football player, not a kicker and he carries himself with that confidence,” Drew said.

Now for the ultimate test: If the Vikings need a game-winning kick from long range in the playoffs this year, how will Drew be feeling?

“We’re going to win,” he said.

Ryan from California

Ryan grew up in Minnesota, went to the University of Minnesota and lived in Minnesota until about 12 years ago when he moved to California. At 51, he’s old enough to have gone to games as a kid with his dad at The Met. He was in college when Randy Moss and Randall Cunningham took the NFL by storm.

Right before Gary Anderson lined up for his infamous miss in the NFC Championship game, Ryan remembers hearing broadcaster Pat Summerall say that Anderson hadn’t missed all year. He looked over at his college roommate and said, “he just jinxed us.”

Standing on his couch for the kick, Ryan collapsed to his knees when it floated just beyond the post.

“There’s moments in your life where something’s just ingrained in in your memory and I have that with that moment,” Ryan said. “I can never get it out of my head.”

Blair Walsh’s miss had a bit more levity involved for Ryan but it was just as memorable.

It happened on the same day as his daughter’s birthday. As Walsh was lining up to kick the ball, he was hanging streamers.

“He hooked it wide left, and I was like, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me!’” Ryan said. “My wife’s like, ‘Ryan, it’s your daughter’s birthday, don’t let this wreck her party.’ I was so devastated.”

Luckily the miss did not ruin his daughter’s birthday or her love for football. Both of Ryan’s daughters are Vikings fans and his 20-year-old asked him last week if she should get a Will Reichard jersey. Naturally, at 20, she was inspired by a Reichard meme involving his scuffle with the Saints after a made field goal.

“His personality is it’s different, man,” Ryan said. “He’s very, very quiet and he definitely looks like an eighth grader, but also he’s super, super competitive.”

Because of the team’s past problems with kicking, which extend to Daniel Carlson’s memorable “did you see the game” miscues in Green Bay and Dan Bailey’s meltdown in Tampa Bay in 2020, Ryan and his kids always say, “don’t miss!” before every Vikings kick. But over the last two years, their tradition has changed.

“Now we don’t even say that,” Ryan said. “We look at each other and we say, ‘he’s got this.’”

For the record, Ryan and his daughters are still doing their Caddyshack-inspired jinx fingers for opposing kickers. They want to maintain some control over the game.

Ryan and his family aren’t totally superstitious — maybe only a little stitious — but he does want Reichard to miss one field goal before the playoffs.

“It’s one of those things you almost kind of hope he misses one so that he doesn’t go into the playoffs with a streak,” he said.

No matter if Reichard has missed one or not, Ryan and his kids have more confidence in Reichard than any other Vikings kicker who has come along because of his demeanor.

“You feel kind of safe with his confidence, right?” Ryan said. “Where some of the other kickers you could tell were a little squirrely about the moment and you’d feel nervous as an audience or a fan. You’d feel nervous for them. Whereas when Will walks out, he’s just kind of like, everybody calm down, I’m here, I’ve got this.”

Ryan compares Reichard’s calmness to a golfer making putts with all the pressure on them, alone out there on the green.

What about the scenario of the Vikings needing a game-winning kick in the playoffs?

“I’m going to have, to be totally honest with you, I’m going to have a little bit of nerves about our history, but I feel a lot more confident than I have in any of those previous kickers,” Ryan said. “I just feel like he’s a different cat altogether than those guys. So, yes, I would be nervous just because as a Vikings fan for 40 years, it’s been tough. But I would feel good about it.”

John from New York

John was in eighth grade when Gary Anderson missed. He was in his parents’ home in Rochester, Minnesota, and all he could keep saying was, “are you kidding me?”

He had the same reaction years later when Blair Walsh missed. His best friend was at the game at TCF Bank Stadium and he was in New York in disbelief again.

Ever since then, John has adopted a tradition whenever the Vikings line up for a field goal. Whether it was Ryan Longwell or Kai Forbath or Greg Joseph, he always got up and walked out of the room. It made him too upset to watch, even if those kickers were very good overall.

With Will Reichard, he doesn’t do that anymore.

One thing that he likes about Reichard is that he was drafted by the team. He isn’t a random kicker who made the team out of camp or a veteran who has bounced around to 10 other teams.

“We drafted him so he’s got the pedigree,” John said. “Other than when he got hurt, I mean, he’s just been automatic. It’s just crazy to see somebody like that. I mean, it’s literally on par with some of the best kickers in the league, and we’re lucky to have him.”

John also mentions that Mike Zimmer not being the head coach helps when it comes to the kicker’s success.

“Zim was good but short sighted when it came to kickers,” John said, being very polite about Zimmer’s history of playing mind games with his specialists.

There’s something else that John has noticed that plays into his confidence with Reichard: That kicking these days is out of this world. The league is hitting 84.7% of its kicks this year and kickers have nailed 66-of-95 attempts over 50 yards. There are two misses under 40 yards this year.

In 1998, the league percentage was 79.6 and the NFL only went 47-for-87 from 50+ for the entire year and there were 49 kicks (out of 484) that were missed under 40 yards.

That still makes Anderson’s miss look rough but it shows how much kicking has changed.

“I feel like when a lot of these traumas that happened to Vikings fans, like, kicking’s come a long way since 1998, you know?” John said. “I think the whole mentality has changed. [Kicking] is one for kids to get into college on scholarship and… get an education. From the top down, it’s a position that people value now.”

In terms of the potential for a game-winning kick in the playoffs, John will be staying in front of the TV to watch and he’ll feel good about it. Reichard’s success has made him think about the way many Vikings fans re-live the team’s failures over and over and he doesn’t want to have that mentality.

“I was watching the Saban thing yesterday and in one episode the thing that stood out for me was [Saban] keeps saying, ‘live in the future, you can’t live in the past,’ so I guess that’s what we have to do to live in the future, not in the past,” John said. “That’s all you can do as Vikings fans.”

Andrew from Illinois

The first Vikings kicker that Andrew remembers is Faud Reveiz.

Coincidentally Reveiz had a couple of seasons where he was the Vikings’ main source of scoring, as Reichard has been in 2026. In 1994, Reveiz made a league-leading 34 field goals as the Warren Moon-led Vikings struggled to get into the end zone. In the playoffs, Reveiz nailed a 52-yarder in 1993 and then went 2-for-2 in 1994. The problem? Nobody remembers the makes when your team wins.

Anyway, when kicking is brought up, Andrew’s mind goes to a slightly different place than 1998 or 2015. He thinks about the kick that was never allowed to happen in 2009.

As the Vikings were setting up for a game-winning field goal, they committed a penalty for having 12 men in the huddle, moving them into a spot where they wanted one more pass completion before trying the field goal. Of course, that’s when Brett Favre threw an interception that allowed the New Orleans Saints to win in overtime.

“We were living in Atlanta at the time and my friend is a Georgia Bulldogs fan, big Falcons fan…he sends me a text message that’s just, ‘Longwell’s got this,’” Andrew said. “And had there not been 12 men in the huddle, maybe he would have….the rest is history. But just brutal.”

As an aside, the Vikings have a very normal field goal percentage in the playoffs, historically speaking. In 53 playoff games in team history, they have made 80.2% of their kicks. Nobody ever mentions Chuck Nelson’s 5-for-5 day in the Vikings’ 36-24 win over the 49ers in 1987. Or Rick Danmeier’s 3-for-3 day in a 6-point win vs. the Falcons in ‘83.

One of the most forgotten clutch kicks in Vikings history came from Kai Forbath. He made a 52-yarder in the Minneapolis Miracle game to give the Vikings a late lead.

Dan Bailey went 2-for-2 in the Vikings’ 2019 playoff win. Eddie Murray had a game-winner vs. the New York Giants in a 1997 playoff game (albeit only 24 yards).

Still, reminding folks that the Vikings’ kicking hasn’t let them down every time isn’t particularly reassuring to a Vikings fan like Andrew, who still feels a wave of anxiety when his team’s kicker lines up.

“I have this reflexive, like self-protective fatalist instinct to be to picture Blair Walsh hooking it left or to picture Gary Anderson or whatever,” Andrew said. “Because it’s [Reichard] and he’s been just really unbelievable, it’s almost like a reminder, like, no, it’s Will. He’s more than earned the benefit of the doubt.”

Who can blame him for still feeling the pang of fear. In 2015, Andrew had the bright idea to have a party at his house during the Vikings’ playoff game against Seattle. His wife told him it wasn’t a good idea to have people over when the Vikings could potentially let him down but he went against her advice. At least there were friends around to console him after Walsh missed.

In his early 40s, Andrew is trying to rewire his mindset and Reichard is part of that. He has been inspired by the way Reichard does not seem to have any fear for the moment. He has no expression before he kicks. He’s just going to swing his leg and whatever happens, happens.

“I think that’s almost like a model for how I’m trying to think about this team in any season, but especially this season,” Andrew said. “When there’s reasons to be ecstatic about the defense, to wonder about the offense, and to not know exactly what this is going to look like, but to just kind of enjoy the ride.”

Will he be thinking about just enjoying the ride if the season comes down to Reichard’s leg though?

“They say when you die that your life flashes before your eyes, I feel like the season will flash before my eyes, and I’ll be like, this is good,” Andrew said. “This is always where you want to be. And despite it, it’ll be stressful. I’ll probably be clutching the dog too tightly or something.”