The Minnesota Vikings won five-straight games to end the season with a winning record and finished only one win shy of a playoff berth. It was a turnaround that re-energized the fanbase and showed that this team, with this coach and quarterback, can win. But while the vibes were great over the last month, Will Reichard‘s dominance might have masked some lingering concerns.
Reichard was absolutely lethal for Minnesota this season, finishing perfect on extra points and a near-perfect 33 for 35 on field goals if not for a few camera wires. According to NextGen Stats, he also made 6.7 more field goals than expected, better than Dallas Cowboys’ star Brandon Aubrey. While Vikings fans have every reason to celebrate the decades-long quest to solidify the kicker position, Reichard’s dominance is also the reason why that party might end a little early.
During Minnesota’s win streak over the last five games of the season, the Vikings scored 120 points. While that 24 points-per-game average was four points above their overall mark for 2025, it may not have reflected the offensive turnaround the Vikings had been projecting. Reichard was 12 for 12 over those games and was responsible for 40% of Minnesota’s scoring, hinting that the offensive production might be more of a mirage than initially thought.
J.J. McCarthy’s individual play improved over the course of the year, at least from a turnover perspective. Still, the offense as a whole actually moved the ball much worse than it did earlier in the season. Four of Minnesota’s best five games in total yards occurred before Week 10, and the defense started hitting its stride just as the offense was supposedly hitting its own.
The offense cleaned up its turnover problems, but when it comes to moving the ball and scoring touchdowns, its success was still limited. So was the winning streak a product of an overall offensive turnaround, or simply because Minnesota boasts the best kicker in all of football?
The answer is probably a bit of both. It’s hard to win five straight if the offense isn’t creating anything. But Reichard’s automatic leg definitely deserves some significant praise. Minnesota’s offense finished 28th on the year in total EPA and 26th in scoring. You have to shudder to think what those numbers might have been had the Vikings employed a league-average kicker. Reichard finished the year first in the league in field goals made over 50 yards with 11, setting a team record in the process.
So, yes, Reichard’s heroics may force the Vikings to re-evaluate how close they believe they are to running it back in 2026 with similar personnel on offense. Still, he also showed them he’s a legitimate core building block for this team.
Of course, it’s a bit odd to consider a kicker a foundational piece of the franchise, but the value, especially to the deprived Vikings, is immense. Imagine for a moment what a hypothetical trade for Will Reichard would take. For most fans, the answer would probably be a first-round pick, as unbelievable as it seems. The Alabama product has been as advertised, and he’s almost become a team MVP in a sense.
“Will the Thrill” is also on only 24. So while questions at quarterback, running back, and more remain, kicker is something that the Vikings can count on for years to come. Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels even went as far as to say he hopes that more pressure gets put on Reichard’s shoulders, if only because he knows he’ll handle it.
“And I think the, not really unfortunate part, but we really haven’t had those ice-in-the-veins kind of walkoff, winning field goals yet in his career,” said Daniels. “But in moments when we needed them the most, whether it’s to go up by three with two minutes left in the game and defense got to get a stop or it’s to put ourselves in a position to basically go up another possession or extra three or seven points right there, he’s been able to do that and capitalize on the biggest of moments.”
The Vikings may not have gotten all the answers they need in other areas ahead of the upcoming offseason, but they can rest easy knowing that Reichard is their safety net when things inevitably don’t go to plan. While many fans had hoped McCarthy and Co. could orchestrate a second-half turnaround that resulted in some easy answers for 2026, Reichard may have incidentally muddied the waters a bit more.
Kicking has proved time and time again to Vikings fans that it’s not as sustainable year-to-year as it seems it should be, but maybe Will Reichard is finally the one to heal our cold, dead, cynical hearts.
