Why is there so much drama around Al Michaels’ calls during Chargers game?

The Los Angeles Chargers have the weekend off, yet can’t stop popping up in headlines because of Justin Herbert and Madison Beer, plus…Al Michaels?

While Chargers fans were busy enjoying the 37-10 beatdown of the Minnesota Vikings and then watching Herbert-Beer go viral on an international scale, some drama unfolded in the background around Michaels’ calling of that Chargers game.

Michaels, in the broadcast booth for that Thursday night game in Week 8, apparently got a scolding from the NFL itself over his chatting about a past field goal involving Vikings kicker Will Reichard.

Long story short, Reichard’s lone field goal miss this year came in London when it hit a wire. He petitioned the league to remove the attempt from his record. The NFL? Not happy.

Apparently, the NFL told Michaels to fix how he described that past incident in real time, and, frankly, Michaels came out swinging for the fences.

"A 32-yard field goal attempt,” Michaels said during the broadcast. “The league wants to take my lunch away because I said before that Reichard's only miss was hitting a wire in London. The league said, 'no, no it was an optical illusion.' Not what Reichard thinks. Anyway, there you have it, we cleaned it up. Always cleaning up our mess, my mess,"

Earlier in the game, Al Michaels mentioned that #Vikings K Will Reichard’s only missed FG this year was the one that hit a camera wire in London.

He now says the league told him to correct himself that it was an optical illusion.pic.twitter.com/b37MeCAF9m
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 24, 2025

So, for Chargers fans curious, that was the drama hinted at during the broadcast and why the team keeps coming up in conversations around the primetime game.

And for what it’s worth, Reichard went on to miss one of his two attempts against the Chargers, hitting one from 54 yards out. The Chargers not only won, but got a 3-of-4 mark from kicker Cameron Dicker.

So far, Dicker has yet to hit any wires that spur him to petition the league, while the NFL lashes out at broadcasters during primetime shows. But he’s enjoying another strong season as one of the most accurate kickers in league history so far, going 18-of-19 and hitting all 18 extra points through eight games.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Chargers from Los Angeles Chargers on SI —

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