NFL Hands the Vikings a Bittersweet Twist in Latest Update
Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard missed a field goal so badly in London during Week 5 that some believed a camera wire might have caused the gaffe. A few days later, the NFL appeared to admit something funky occurred, but also wouldn’t erase the transaction from the box score.
The NFL has clarified a controversy for the Vikings in London one week ago, and alas, the update didn’t really accomplish much of anything.
The NFL informed Reichard and the Vikings that a mistake probably occurred, but they’d also do nothing about it.
Will Reichard’s Missed Field Goal Indeed Involved Shenanigans for Vikings
But also — go away with your requests.
NFL Admits Will Reichard Field Goal Irregularity; Does Nothing
NFL insider Jordan Schultz — the man from the coffee spat with Ian Rapoport several months ago — tweeted Saturday: “Sources: Vikings K Will Reichard’s agents and the team’s front office requested that the NFL remove his missed FG from last week’s London game after it clearly struck a camera cable, causing the ball to take an unnatural turn to the right.”
“The NFL acknowledged it was a missed call but ruled they will not make the statistical adjustment.”
And there you have it: the NFL said, “Sorry that happened to you, but also leave us alone.”
Vikings Won, So Nobody Cares
The saving grace regarding Reichard’s CameraWireGate ordeal is that it doesn’t wholly matter in the long run. Reichard won’t have the blemish erased from his stats — the NFL virtually never does that sans a fantasy football correction to ruin your Wednesday — but Minnesota still won the game, even with the field goal controversy.
Reichard has to eat the kick as a miss because the NFL chose to acknowledge tomfoolery but not correction.
Just imagine if the kick had cost Minnesota the game. Now that would be a humdinger.
Reichard Rarely Misses That Badly
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said about Reichard’s faux miss last week, “I did not notice it. I did not see it in the moment. I would defer to the league on if that’s something that there should be some protocols in place that I should know about. But other than maybe somebody in the booth alerting me that they saw it, or Will himself is going to be a critical guy in that moment, but a lot of times a kicker is a lot like a golf swing, they’re keeping their head down and they might not see it initially.”
“He told me he thought he hit it well, and Will doesn’t end up that far off line, historically, since our time having him here. But yeah, not really sure what to say on that one other than that was unfortunate if it did happen, and if it didn’t, so be it.”
When Reichard misses kicks, they rarely abruptly change course as if something nefarious transpired, lending credence to the thought that an unknown force — probably a wire — can be called the culprit.
The Alternative Take
On the other hand, some also believe that a wire had nothing to do with the missed field goal.
Fantasy Life‘s Thor Nystrom dug deep this week, determining that Reichard just flat-out missed.
“This morning I did a Zapruder breakdown of multiple angles of Will Reichard’s missed FG last week vs Browns. I no longer believe the ball hit a camera wire. I believe it veers right from combo of 3 factors: 1) Truncated follow-thru, 2) Deflected at line, 3) Wind blowing right,” Nystrom tweeted last weekend.
Here’s the footage and breakdown:
SI.com on the Reichard Fiasco
Joe Nelson of SI.com added context last week, “The NFL protocol situations involving the ball making contact with things not included in the field of play state: ‘If a loose ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot.'”
“So, if the ball had hit the camera wire and the officials had seen it, the play would’ve been nullified and Reichard would’ve been given another attempt. Something similar happened in the 2022-23 NFC Championship between the Eagles and 49ers when Brett Kern’s punt for Philadelphia appeared to deflect off a camera wire.”
One grand takeaway on Reichard, as a whole, is that the pristine version is back. Reichard struggled late last season after returning from a quad injury. The start of 2025 has featured a return to almost unblemished normalcy.
Nelson continued, “The officials wound up reviewing the punt, but the video evidence was inconclusive. Philadelphia crushed the 49ers 31-7 before losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, so the wire controversy didn’t last more than a few minutes.”
“Had the Vikings lost to the Browns on Sunday, Reichard’s kick would be scrutinized much more than it already has been. Fortunately, the Vikings won 21-17, and they can put the mystery to bed while knowing what to watch for on all kicks going forward.”
Reichard and the Vikings will host the Philadelphia Eagles in six days and won’t have any issues with rogue wires.
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