Vikings Youngster Gets More Bad News From NFL During Bye Week

Head coach Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings do not have a game this week, but they are still making news. More specifically, kicker Will Reichard is garnering attention over his supposed missed field goal during the Vikings’ Week 5 win over the Cleveland Browns in London.

Reichard’s camp submitted a formal request to the league in protest of the ruling on the field goal, hoping to get it stricken from his record.

Their efforts, at least so far, have fallen short.

NFL Sticks With Incorrect Stat on Vikings K Will Reichard

The kick came during the fourth quarter of the contest, with the Vikings trailing the Browns 17-14 and Reichard on to tie it.

Instead, the Browns got assistance on a “block” from the television equipment.

“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.” Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported in a post on X on October 11.

“The NFL acknowledged it was a missed call but ruled they will not make the statistical adjustment.”

The “miss” stands as Reichard’s only one this season.

NFL Does Soft Pivot on Vikings Ruling

Initially, the NFL did not even concede that the cable was the cause of Reichard’s kick going wayward.

“The league’s position, I’m told, is that they didn’t have a clear view of the ball hitting the cable,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said on “Football Night in America” on October 5. “Some would say, yes, the eye in the sky does not lie.”

The Vikings were not the only team to endure such a fate on a field goal try.

The New York Jets also had an incident during their game at home against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5.

Cowboys defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. deflected Jets quarterback Justin Fields’ pass up and into the Skycam in New York. In that instance, officials ruled the pass incomplete. It should have been deemed a “do-over,” per Florio.

Neither ruling helps Reichard, and the Vikings still defeated the Browns, winning 21-17.

There is more than just one game at stake for Reichard, though. There is also a chance of joining a historic bunch, but it requires the NFL’s help at this point.

Will Reichard Chasing History

Reichard’s unblemished efficiency is about more than appearances; there are historical implications for the Vikings specialist. He could become the third kicker in NFL history to attempt at least 30 field goals without any misses in a single season, per Stathead.

Reichard is on pace for over 30 tries. The previous two instances are Mike Vanderjagt, who did it with the Indianapolis Colts in 2003, and former Vikings kicker Gary Anderson in 1998.

Anderson and the Vikings ended that season one win shy of a Super Bowl berth.

Reichard, who the Vikings selected with the No. 203 overall pick of the 2024 draft, connected on 24 of his 30 tries as a rookie. He was 9-for-9 on field goal tries and 16-for-16 on extra point attempts through five games last season.

At any rate, the Vikings will need Reichard to get right back on track when they return from the bye to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7.

NFL Announces Cowboys Trevon Diggs Punishment For Actions in Win Over Jets

The Dallas Cowboys appeared to have last weekend’s game against the winless New York Jets well in hand heading into the fourth quarter, with a 30-6 lead. But that didn’t stop emotions from running high anyway, and a Dallas two-time Pro Bowl defender finds his wallet just a bit lighter on Saturday, after the NFL Operations Office announced its “gameday accountability” actions — better known as fines — for Week Five.

Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys’ 2021 All-Pro cornerback, was fined $12,172 by the league for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he incurred in the fourth quarter of that game at MetLife Stadium, with the league describing the more specific reason for the fine as “striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing.”

Scuffle Between Diggs, Jets Rookie

What happened was this: with 13:47 remaining in the game and the Cowboys still on top by 24 points, Jets quarterback Justin Fields tried a run up the middle on third down and one yard to go — but he didn’t make it. The Cowboys defense stopped Fields for no gain.

But Diggs was not involved in the play that halted Fields and the Jets because he was otherwise occupied, getting himself in a fight — more accurately described as a scuffle — with the Jets’ rookie wide receiver Arian Smith, a fourth-round pick out of Georgia.

Diggs was a second-round pick in 2020 for the Cowboys, out of Alabama.

The former Bulldogs standout apparently caught Diggs with a head butt on the play. But the officials either did not see that offense or did not consider it significant. Smith was not penalized on the play, nor did the NFL later slap him with a fine.

Diggs Fine Was First Offense

The NFL may levy fines on players for offenses that the officials failed to flag during play, and in fact, the league reviews every play of every game to look for uncalled violations, as well as to review the penalties that were flagged by officials.

What happened next, however, did catch the officials’ attention. Aggravated by the Smith head butt, Diggs responded by taking a swing at the Jets rookie. That impulsive action by Diggs drew a 15-yard penalty, but the call did not affect the Jets’ drive because the refs chose to enforce the yardage between downs.

The $12,172 fine imposed on Diggs was a first offense penalty. If Diggs is called for a second penalty in the same category this season, the fine — should the NFL choose to hit him with one — would be $17,968.

In fact, the call was just Diggs’ second penalty of any kind this season, and his first to be accepted. In the Cowboys’ Week Four game, which ended in a 40-40 tie with the Green Bay Packers, Diggs received flag for defensive holding in the third quarter. But the Packers opted to decline the penalty.

Diggs Hit With Heftier Fine in 2024

After suffering more frequent penalties in the first three seasons of his career, Diggs has cleaned up his game more recently. He was called for just two last season, plus another that was declined, though two of his 2024 called came for unnecessary roughness.

Diggs was fined for one of those calls, a leg-whip in Week One of 2024 against the Cleveland Browns. That one cost Diggs $16,883.

 

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