With the offense and defense performing well for the Minnesota Vikings this season, it’s time for this special teams to step up their performance.
It wasn’t long into Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles that Minnesota Vikings fans fell victim to the kicker-related terrorism that’s been plaguing the team for years.
Dan Bailey missed two of his first three field goal attempts, but later redeemed himself by making two successful kicks in the second half, including a game-winning 52-yarder late in the fourth quarter.
To the delight of nervous Vikings fans everywhere it appears Bailey was able to do something the team’s previous kickers could not; get out of his head.
While it’s fair to think that the recent history of kicking woes can be attributed to the player possessing the right mindset, one can’t help but wonder why this special teams unit as a whole has seemingly regressed the past couple of seasons.
In fact, the last time Minnesota had a special teams touchdown was in 2016 when Cordarrelle Patterson returned a kickoff for 104 yards in Week 11 versus the Arizona Cardinals.
The loss of a dynamic player like Patterson and the lingering injury that’s plagued Marcus Sherels all season no doubt plays a role in the overall lack of production from the special teams this year. But at what point will Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer will be held accountable for the lack of recent success and player development in his system?
It doesn’t seem likely that Minnesota will address Priefer’s job before the season is over, but it’s fair speculate whether his time with the Vikings is nearing an end.