At SoFi Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings suffered a crushing 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Due to a left shoulder injury, veteran quarterback Carson Wentz struggled through the game and was clearly upset on the sidelines. Later, Al Michaels called out Wentz and pointed out him smiling as he walked off the field. 

“Kind of weird to be smiling in the way of the watch,” Michaels commented.

The Chargers dominated the tempo from the first kickoff. Minnesota only gained 164 total yards, compared to 419 for Los Angeles. The Vikings’ running game crumbled, as they managed just 34 rushing yards.

Carson Wentz had 144 yards, and one interception on 15 of 27 passes. His injury grew worse as he was under pressure all night long, receiving repeated hits and was sacked five times. To add to the frustration of the evening, he fumbled once but recovered.  

“I’m not proud of that. I apologize to the equipment guys for that one. But yeah, I was in a good amount of pain there. I felt I could do my job. I thought I could throw the ball. Thankfully, you don’t need your left shoulder all that much to throw the football.” Wentz told The Mirror.

Carson Wentz’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison in the third quarter helped the Vikings reduce the gap to 10-24. The Chargers, however, responded with consecutive scoring drives and kept Minnesota scoreless for the remainder of the game. The Chargers were unable to punt and converted nine out of thirteen third downs thanks to the Vikings’ defense.

“This is not a ‘bury the tape’ kind of time for our organization. This is a ‘watch it, view it, own it’. Every coach, every player. And it starts with me. I did not have our team prepared to play,” Kevin O’Connell said.

Wentz sat slouched on the bench after the final whistle, throwing his helmet in anger. Despite the evening’s rigors, commentator Al Michaels captured his mood on camera, noting his smile as he exited the field. Wentz’s health and future as a starter were questioned after the loss, which left Minnesota at 3-4.

Al Michaels’ unconventional role in the kicker controversies

During the NFL broadcast Al Michaels became involved in two kicker-centric events that garnered significant buzz. First, Michaels brought up Will Reichard‘s failed field goal try in London.

“Will Reichard, his only miss this year was when he hit a wire with the camera in London,” he said during the broadcast.

After the ball reached a visible cable radius, the video playback indicates that it did change its trajectory. However, the NFL refused to take the miss off Reichard’s record, eventually calling the incident an “optical illusion.”  

Michaels corrected his statement during the broadcast and said, “The league wants to take my lunch away because I said before that Reichard’s only miss was hitting a wire in London. The league says, ‘No, no, it was an optical illusion.'”

Shortly before a 49-yard field goal try, Michaels turned to the Los Angeles Chargers’ Cameron Dicker, calling him “fabulous” and emphasizing his dependability. A flurry of social media comments blamed Michaels for “jinxing” the kicker after the kick sailed wide. After Micheals ended his commentary for the kick with, “There goes the perfect season.”

Both instances demonstrate the heightened scrutiny that broadcasters currently face in live telecasts of the NFL. The league ordered an on-air clarification when Michaels brought up the Reichard miss. A layer of viewer fiction regarding “announcer jinxes” was introduced by the Dicker miss.

Whatever his motivation, Michaels ended up playing a major role in two strange kicking stories that came together on one broadcast night.