Vikings Evidently Have Their Version of The Undertaker

The NFL and WWE don't have too much crossover, but Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels blended both worlds on Tuesday.

Vikings Evidently Have Their Version of The Undertaker

He thinks his new kicker, Parker Romo, is basically The Undertaker, a retired wrestling icon.

"Will is a stone cold killer for sure. I would say, um, I'm up here thinking wrestling, I'm thinking Stone Cold, now I'm thinking like Romo is The Undertaker or something. Parker is looking to bury you," Daniels told reporters on Tuesday, five days before the kicking Undertaker and the Vikings travel to Tennessee for a date with the Titans.

Daniels' reference to "Will" is a shout to Will Reichard, the Vikings' primary kicker who injured his quad in a game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. Romo took over last weekend and will remain the team's kicker for at least the next three games.

Romo delivered flawlessly on Sunday en route to four field goal conversions and zero misses. Minnesota scored no touchdowns and won 12-7 on the road at the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Vikings' otherwise decent offense could not finish drives, as quarterback Sam Darnold encountered his worst game to date with the franchise, including 3 interceptions that easily could've turned into 4 without a convenient penalty flag. So, Minnesota needed a hero, and Romo said, "Sure."

Minnesota originally signed Romo in March, and in fact, onlookers were rather optimistic about his upside. Nobody knew the Vikings would later choose Reichard in the draft, so Romo was theorized as the kicking fix. Minnesota chose Reichard over Romo in the summer, but after Reichard's quad injury, Romo became the next man up via free-agent addition.

During the win over Jacksonville, Romo hit field goals from 45, 34, 33, and 29 yards. The Vikings didn't ask him to blast it from beyond 50, but his scouting report suggests he's capable of that. We shall see.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell included Romo in his synopsis of the team effort in the win. "I was proud of the way the guys just kept playing. The defense picked them up, and then Romo shows up on Tuesday with [long snapper] Jake McQuaide and Ryan Wright had a couple nice holds in there, as well," he told reporters Sunday .

"Execution of the team around [the offense] when you don't have the performance that you want in any other aspect, that's a team win, and these guys can have a lot of confidence moving forward from that."

Before 2024, Minnesota experienced decades of doldrums in its kicking game sans a reliable Ryan Longwell era from 2006 to 2011. But this year is different, with Stone Cold and The Undertaker rising to the occasion.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow . The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, 'The Sopranos,' Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.