Blair Walsh is the latest playoff goat in Vikings history, but at least his girlfriend still has his back.
Walsh will go down in infamy after he missed a 27-yard field goal attempt that would have given Minnesota a two-point lead with 22 seconds left in their Wildcard Weekend matchup with the Seahawks on Sunday.
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After shanking the kick, the Seahawks held onto their 10-9 lead to win the game and eliminate the Vikings. Social media hasn't been kind to Walsh and the Vikings after a defeat that seemed colder than the sub-zero temperatures the game was contested in.
While most people were lambasting Walsh after the botched field goal, with his own head coach Mike Zimmer calling it a "chip shot," the kicker's girlfriend, Alabama television news reporter Sarah Chaffee, jumped to his defense on Twitter.
vikings were not in a position to win the game w/out @BlairWalsh3 keep in mind he scored evry pt today. also handled himself like class act
— Sarah Chaffee (@sarahjchaffee) January 10, 2016
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Walsh's foot is actually what helped Minnesota jump out to an early lead during the freezing game. The Vikings build a 9-0 cushion through three quarters off of 22, 43 and 47-yard field goals, but the 27-yard attempt missed wide left. With the miss, Walsh joins 1998 NFC Championship Game goat Gary Anderson, whose 38-yard miss against the Falcons will never be forgotten.
While the miss is hard to defend, Chaffee did have a point as Walsh accounted for all of the team's offense and was contrite in the aftermath of the critical play. Walsh could have easily pointed out that holder Jeff Locke positioned the ball so that the laces were toward the kicker, instead of away from him, but instead he took the blame.
"It's so quick that I don't know what happened," a teary-eyed Walsh said after the game via ESPN. "You have to go back and look at the film. But I can tell you this: It's my fault. I don't care whether you give me a watermelon hold [a poor, loose hold], I should be able to put that one through. Jeff did his job. [Long-snapper Kevin McDermott] did his job. I'm the only one who didn't do his job. That's on me."
Though his girlfriend came to his aid, there was a lot of fun being had on social media at the kicker's expense.
Don't miss the newest Netflix documentary on Vikings K Blair Walsh: (pic via @danWorthington) pic.twitter.com/7BrRbKxsJI — NOT SportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) January 10, 2016
When ya tell Blair Walsh to throw it to your hands. https://t.co/aWnY2PnD9S
— fka 'WFANAudio' (@OrdioMongo) January 10, 2016
27 yards. Laces in. Nipple piercing cold weather. Cmon man @BlairWalsh3 #Viks pic.twitter.com/49gt6C0w3g — Ryan Yoder (@Yoder_Ryan) January 10, 2016
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