Minnesota Vikings 2015 quarter-season awards

6 of 6

Oct 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh (3) kicks a field goal during the first half against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Hot Seat Award

Blair Walsh

Blair Walsh has done enough this season to lose his job, in my opinion. He struggled mightily in the preseason, and those struggles have carried over into the regular season. For the season, Walsh has made six of eight field goal attempts (with a long of 38) and converted eight of nine extra point attempts.

Moreover, one could argue that Walsh cost the Vikings their Week 4 loss against Denver. While I’m not one to blame a loss on one particular play or player because there’s always many other mishaps that occur in games, Walsh’s missed 38-yard attempt in the second quarter proved monumental in the loss. Not only did the Vikings lose by three, but Denver running back Ronnie Hillman ran for a 72-yard touchdown on the following play. That’s a ten-point swing that could be prevented if Walsh converts his 38-yard attempt.

The only issue with getting rid of Walsh is that there doesn’t appear to be many other options available. It’s a pretty down year for kickers as a whole, and it doesn’t seem to do any good to sign a kicker who has already been cut from a different team. For now, we’ll have to keep our faith in Walsh, as tough as that may be.

Honorable Mention: Cordarrelle Patterson

Fortunately for you, that’s all the awards I’ll be handing out today. As for the Minnesota Vikings, they enter a pretty favorable portion of their schedule as their next five opponents (KC, DET, CHI, STL, OAK) have a combined record of 7-18 this season. It’ll be important for them to take at least four of their next five games, in my opinion. As always, if you have any agreements, disagreements, other comments, etc. regarding my awards, leave them in the comments section below.

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