Ability has never been a concern for Vikings kicker Greg Joseph, who drilled a 61-yard field goal to beat the Giants — Sunday's NFC wild-card playoff foe — the last time he lined up for a meaningful kick at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Joseph has twice this season set his career long on field goals, with a 56-yard kick against the Packers in Week 1 and then the game-winner against the Giants on Dec. 24.
"I think it had another three, four yards maybe," Joseph said on Dec. 28. "But I didn't really [re]watch it for that. I just watched it obviously for film purposes and some really cool videos that surfaced. Just after taking a step back, I'm very grateful for it and look back on it with a smile."
When asked to talk this week, Joseph said he "respectfully declined." The Vikings — and a fan base scarred by postseason kicking woes — need his entire focus as he tries to develop consistency for his second trip to the NFL playoffs. Joseph, 28, kicked in three playoff games for the Titans as an injury replacement in the 2019 season, making all 10 kicks (nine extra points and a 30-yard field goal).
Joseph should have reason to be confident, said special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, when facing the same Giants team on the same field where he made one of the biggest kicks of his life.
"Hopefully it's not a 61-yarder again that would require us to win this football game," Daniels said. "But if that is the case, we've been there before. He's been there before, and you've got to feel good about it. There's no elements, no wind, it'll be perfect conditions going back into U.S. Bank Stadium, so that should give him the supreme confidence."
The Vikings are again looking for Joseph to rebound after he missed three of his last 11 kicks — an extra point and field-goal tries from 46 and 50 yards — during January outdoor games in Green Bay and Chicago. He has bounced back before. He had missed nine kicks in seven games before drilling 21 straight tries across six games.
Because of the inconsistency, Joseph ranked 28th in field-goal percentage (78.8%), paired with a league-worst six missed extra points, ahead of pending free agency. Punter Ryan Wright wasn't immune to struggles in the past two outdoors games either, Daniels said.
"We haven't had our best games from a kicker or punter standpoint in the conditions," Daniels said. "Can't make excuses for those guys, it's on them to execute. Got to get it done."
The benefits of a home playoff game will be felt tenfold by Vikings specialists, whose extra-point operation — 26 of 28 tries (92.9%) — is strong at U.S. Bank Stadium. Joseph has converted only 11 of 16 field-goal tries at home, but all of the misses have been from beyond 50 yards.
Long snapper Andrew DePaola said the 61-yard kick against the Giants proved what Joseph can do.
"You see the strength in his leg and what he's capable of," DePaola said. "I knew it going into that [Giants] game, Ryan knew it, Greg knew it. I just think now the team and now the fans know it, too."
Daniels has cited Joseph's resiliency when asked about confidence in the guy he calls "G Money."
Joseph missed an extra point against the Saints but had a game-winning, 47-yard field goal in the Week 4 win in London. He's also had winning kicks against the Commanders, Colts and Giants.
Daniels said he tries to establish a relationship with every player. With specialists, what Daniels learns can dictate how he coaches the individual kicker or punter. Joseph isn't coached the same as Wright if they're having issues.
"You kind of have to tread lightly on how you speak to those guys," Daniels said. "But every kicker is different. I've worked with ones who want to be [criticized], where as other guys you want to kind of leave them alone."
Where does Joseph fall after a couple of misses?
"Greg falls on the 'leave them be,' " Daniels said.