NFL teams
Ben Goessling, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer says missed field goal wasn't only reason for loss

NFL, Minnesota Vikings

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Coach Mike Zimmer on Tuesday said kicker Blair Walsh's missed field goal wasn't the only reason the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Zimmer said he talked to Walsh in front of the team after the missed 27-yard field goal at the end of the Vikings' 10-9 loss in the NFC wild-card game Sunday. And while Zimmer -- who called the kick a "chip shot" after the game and said Walsh had to make it -- didn't change his expectations Tuesday.

"I think our team handled it remarkably well, with the things they said [in support of Walsh]," Zimmer said. "And I know people are giving me a hard time for saying he needed to make that kick, but if it would have been [tight end] Kyle Rudolph in the end zone, I would have said, 'He needed to make that catch.' Or if it would have been [cornerback] Xavier Rhodes, 'He needed to knock that ball down.'

"That's my expectations. I expect our guys to perform all the time. But I thought our team handled it remarkably well."

Before Walsh missed wide left with 26 seconds remaining Sunday, kickers had made 189 of 191 field goal attempts from 27 yards or closer this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That included one of the three field goals Walsh had made earlier in the game to put the Vikings up 9-0.

Russell Wilson, however, found Tyler Lockett for a 35-yard reception after recovering a bad snap, and then he hit Doug Baldwin for a touchdown to make it 9-7. Then, Adrian Peterson lost a fumble in Vikings territory, allowing the Seahawks to put Steven Hauschka in position for the go-ahead field goal.

"[Walsh] wasn't on the field when we didn't cover the guy when Wilson grabbed the ball and threw it down to the 1-yard line," Zimmer said. "He wasn't on the field when we fumbled. There were a lot of other situations throughout the course of the ballgame.

"One play does not win or lose. Unfortunately for kickers, it's the finality of the situation that happens. We had many, many opportunities to win that football game."

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