Dan Bailey, the Vikings veteran kick, self-destroyed on Sunday and was able to get his team into play.
Bailey, a former long-range Dallas Cowboy who was the most accurate kick in NFL history, is currently unable to kick to save his life. He went 0-3 against the Buccaneers in the first half, missing an extra point, a 36-yard field goal and a 54-yard. None of the three were particularly close. Then, when the Vikings were 23-14 behind in the fourth quarter, they were missing on a 45-yard-wide right-wing.
If you follow, it’s a 0-4 day for Bailey, going directly to the Vikings 10 points in the game they were knocked out at 26-14. He gives him seven missed kicks from nine attempts to return to the previous game.
According to CBS Sports, Bailey’s day was historically bad.
Bailey’s fight began a week ago. During the first 11 games of the season, he scored 12 of his 14 field attempts and 27 of his 27 extra points. He then missed three of his five kicks against the Jaguars – two extra points and a potentially winning 51-yard field goal.
The week before the match against the Buccaneers, Bailey seemed to think everything was fine.
“It was just a weird deal,” he said. “In terms of timing, I was really consistent in the ball. I actually had a very good foreplay, I thought, so I got into everything, feeling good, confident. I practiced very well, too. You know, I don’t. I don’t know it was obviously not up to standard and it was uncharacteristic enough for me to go there and do it.I am not proud of it; I am a little embarrassed to be honest but it is just one of the things where you just have to go further and try break through the following.
Bailey said he wouldn’t change anything in either preparation or approach, he brushed off the rough trip as a fluff. Mike Zimmer and special teams coach Marwan Maalouf also expressed confidence in the veteran kick, although Maalouf pointed to a possible mechanical issue.
“I think he hit the ball a little higher,” Maalouf said. “I noticed this a bit after the second miss. It was just a bad day. It’s probably the biggest thing. He practiced a good week. He had a very good practice week the previous week and he put it up in foreplay and does a good job.”
This week, Bailey had to be a rebound performance, instead it was just the opposite. Mentally, he seems to be completely melting away, with none of the four kicks against Tampa Bay approaching.
Last week before, the last time a Vikings kick missed three or more kicks in a match when Daniel Carlson did it in the 2nd week of the 2018 season. The Vikings cut him for Carlson despite being drafted in the fifth round.
From now on, the Vikings might have to compete for Bailey for the job – or just cut it off. We have Tristan Vizcaino’s sophomore kick on the practice team and may bring in some veterans next week.
Between Bailey’s missed kicks and a couple of questionable defensive pass interference calls, everything fell bad for the Vikings in Tampa. They played well in attacking sections and lost largely due to Bailey’s absence.
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