Greg Joseph – K
Greg Joseph has had a season full of highs and lows and experienced both ends of that spectrum in the team’s victory over the Bears. Joseph was perfect on the day when it came to his field goals, but again, he missed an extra point.
Let’s talk about those field goals first. Joseph hit from 28, 50, and 41 yards away. Those nine points helped put the game out of reach for the Bears and allowed the Vikings to rest starters on both sides of the ball.
The concern and the reason he ended up on the disappointing list again is that he missed his first extra point of the game. Joseph pushed it to the right, and suddenly the Vikings had just six points instead of seven.
It’s not the end of the world, but it does take a little momentum away after scoring a touchdown and puts it back to a team that maybe just got the ball rammed down their throats.
The Vikings are going to be playing much better teams than the Bears and Minnesota can’t afford to give away points. This has been an issue with their kicker all season long, and while one can hope it doesn’t occur in the playoffs, it almost seems like a given at this point.
Hopefully, a Joseph missed extra point isn’t what costs the team a victory in the playoffs, shattering their dreams of a championship.