5 Bold Predictions – Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears – Week 15

Bailey will snap out of his slump against the Bears

Call this wishful thinking or call it turning a blind eye. Even though the past two weeks have seen the Vikings kicker go 1-for-8 on his kicks, he remains the team’s best option heading into Sunday’s game against the Bears, and there’s a good chance that he can turn things around.

Before the past two weeks, Bailey was in the midst of a strong season for Minnesota. He was hitting 83.3 percent (10-for-12) of his field goals and he had just one missed extra point in 27 tries.

Going further, Bailey was coming off a spectacular season a year ago where he hit 93.1 percent of his field goals and went 40-for-44 on extra points despite having a new special teams coordinator, holder, and long snapper.

So what is the problem that has led to Bailey’s meltdown? A lot of it could be to do with the holder. The Vikings released long snapper Austin Cutting last month because Zimmer was concerned about his low snaps. The result has been Andrew DePaola taking over for the past four games, which has coincided with Bailey’s downfall.

Besides the backup quarterback, the kicker may be the most popular position on Minnesota’s roster due to its massive failures in franchise history. But it would also be a mistake to cut one of the best kickers in franchise history (who is also signed for the next two seasons) because of a two-game stretch.

This may be something that may not get solved until the offseason, but Bailey has the track record to turn things around, and he should keep the Vikings in the game on Sunday.