THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
There's a distinctive sound in the NFL that causes despair, joy, and amazement in equal measure for a matter of a moment. It also has a nickname that when said, those following the sport will know exactly what's happened, even if it doesn't give you the exact outcome.
The "Doink!"
To anyone on the outside looking in, this word will still give a sense of something that has hit another object. When explained that it's the sound of the football hitting the goalpost, you know something extraordinary has happened.
Last Sunday's opening game of this year's NFL International Series games, at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in front of a frenzied crowd of over 60,000, had such a moment. Even more outrageous was that it was a "double-doink".
After hitting a 60-yard field goal to tie the game at 25, and with just under two minutes left in the game, Will Lutz had to repeat the trick as time ran out to take the New Orleans Saints to overtime against the Minnesota Vikings. Having just seen the Vikings go ahead with 24 seconds left, after the game ebbed and flowed through the fourth quarter with four lead changes, Lutz had to go the extra yard, literally, this time from 61 yards out.
"Honestly, they were the same two kicks," Lutz explained later. "Unfortunately, the second one had one more yard to move than the first one. So, there's no silver lining to losing or missing. I thought they were both in. I hit them both on the screws. I played them right there. The ball is going to move a little left. And the second one just moved a little more left. So, kind of shocked it didn't bounce in. But it's frustrating."
Lutz knows that this is the cruellest part of the game where kickers can be heroes and villains with a swing of their leg. He wasn't the first to miss, and wont be the last, but the manner, hitting both the upright then the crossbar is a rare thing indeed. It was made more dramatic with it being the deciding factor between two teams that had played close for the majority of the game.
Early in the second half the Vikings looked to have broken free. Greg Joseph had just kicked his third straight field goal and with a 16-7 lead, although not out of sight, they were in control against a fairly inept Saints offense, but as we have seen so often in games this season, teams are resilient and fight backs seem to be the trend this year.
So many games are coming down to the last drive, even the last play. This proved no different. Head Coach Kevin O'Connell is building unity within his group of players, and this was evident throughout Sunday. He said: "I think this group is a connected team that loves playing with each other. When they need to, these guys can collectively come together. We rely a lot on our leadership. We rely a lot on guys to make plays in big moments. There's never any ounce of flinch, even when things don't go well for us, because the expectation is a high standard here. When we're able to make these plays late in games to go execute again, to do whatever we have to do to win the football game, I think it continues to give you confidence moving forward as a team that you can win when maybe you leave some plays out there, when defensively we could be a little bit better." Knowing that on another day the final kick could've been a different outcome, "As soon as he hit it, I thought it was going in, the second one. I told him after the game, you hit them both as pure as they come. He's outdoors here. For him to line up two of those in a row, felt like they had a good chance to go through. A couple bounces later, we're able to walk off as the winning team."
The 28-25 win puts the Vikings at 3-1 for the season, and a good position to challenge after the opening month, "Being 3-1, we kind of break our season into four games. To be 3-1 through four games is definitely where we want to be. I mean, I think when you look at the tape, there's a lot of things that we could correct. That's exciting when you do get those wins and have a lot to correct. We have to correct it quickly because it's a tough league," said star receiver Adam Thielen, who caught 8 passes for 72 yards. "With the new system, new coaches, new staff, new organization, we're a long way away. Again, that's a good thing. Being 3-1 through four games, it's a really long season, but we got to have a little bit of a sense of urgency to kind of go correct them and not keep making the same mistakes and hurting ourselves kind of game after game."
This coming Sunday the Green Bay Packers visit the United Kingdom for the first time. Their support will be seen and heard, but their opponent the New York Giants, who featured in the very first London game back in 2007, will also be heavily backed. It marks the first time that two teams visit London with winning record, both are 3-1. Whoever goes home with the win will be well placed to make a run through October, so this should be another close match.
