Inside The Vikings

Did Vikings kicker Will Reichard's missed field goal hit a camera wire?

Reichard's game-tying attempt in the fourth quarter appeared to perhaps hit a wire inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Will Reichard kicks against the Browns in London.
Will Reichard kicks against the Browns in London. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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In the fourth quarter of Sunday's Vikings-Browns game in London, Minnesota kicker Will Reichard had a 51-yard attempt that would've tied the score at 17. It missed badly to the right for his first unsuccessful kick of the year after 18 makes between field goals and extra points.

To the naked eye, it looked like Reichard's kick simply swerved to the right on him. It was an uncharacteristically bad miss for the second-year kicker, but nothing seemed amiss beyond that.

On further review, however, it looks like there's a real possibility that the miss may not have been Reichard's fault. Zoom in, and you can see what appears to potentially be the ball hitting a camera wire inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and changing direction for that reason.

Take a look and decide for yourself:

Again, it's not totally clear if that's what happened. But it sure looks like the ball may have taken an unnatural turn — and you can maybe see the wire shake a little bit from the impact. If the ball did hit the wire, the officials should've noticed that and called for a redo of the kick.

This could've been a much bigger controversy had the Vikings not scored the game-winning touchdown in the final 30 seconds and escaped with a 21-17 victory over the Browns.

Kevin O'Connell wasn't asked about the play after the game and it's unclear if Reichard spoke to any reporters in the locker room. It'll be interesting to see if the topic comes up in any future media sessions with O'Connell, Reichard, or maybe special teams coordinator Matt Daniels. The Vikings are heading into their bye week, which will affect their typical media schedule.

Nonetheless, if Reichard's kick did hit a wire, it's another example of how weird things often seem to happen in these NFL international games.


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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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