The Minnesota Vikings aren't sold on Dan Bailey as their kicker for this week -- at least as of right now. Bailey has immensely struggled over his last two games, missing four field goal attempts and three extra point attempts that have contributed toward the Vikings sitting on the outside looking in regarding the NFC playoff picture.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer isn't set on naming a kicker for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears, a win Minnesota needs to stay alive in the NFC playoff race. If Zimmer wants a kicker that can make an extra point, he'll have to consider all options.
"I don't think we have a kicker we can't depend on," Zimmer said Wednesday, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "All kinds of guys make mistakes throughout the course of a game."
Bailey went 1 for 3 on extra point attempts and 2 for 3 on field goal attempts in a Week 13 overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, a game which wouldn't have went to overtime if Bailey could convert a kick. In Sunday's 12-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bailey missed all three of his field goal attempts and his lone extra point attempt. The Vikings' better option was going for two than kicking an extra point as they tried to rally back in a game that would have kept them holding onto the final seed in the NFC playoff standings with a victory.
Minnesota worked out two kickers this week in Chandler Catanzaro and Taylor Bertolet, showcasing their faith (or lack thereof) in Bailey. Catanzaro hasn't kicked in an NFL game since 2018, converting 83.8% of his field goal attempts for five different teams. Bertolet has never kicked in an NFL game.
Bailey, once the most accurate kicker in NFL history, is hitting a career -ow 66.7% of his field goal attempts this year. Prior to the last two weeks, Bailey hit 10 of 12 field goal attempts (83.3%) and 26 of 27 extra point attempts (96.3%). This comes after a season which he made 93.1% of his field goal attempts (27 of 29) and 90.9% of his extra point attempts (40 of 44).
Even though Bailey has been reliable for the Vikings, Zimmer's patience is running thin with him. Minnesota has a tough decision to make in the coming days.
