MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Will Reichard was the man of the hour for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday when he was shown on the giant videoboards at U.S. Bank Stadium during the two-minute warning in their latest victory.
Agitated fans roared their appreciation for the standout kicker, whose five field goals accounted for all of Minnesota’s scoring in a 15-10 escape against winless Miami.
Fun moment, only Reichard had no idea what all the fuss was about until long snapper Andrew DePaola recounted the moment in a victorious locker room.
“I was just focused on the game,” Reichard said. “It’s awesome. Our fans have been really supportive of me since I’ve been here, so it means a lot. It’s pretty cool.”
Cool only begins to describe the roll Reichard is on for an undefeated team that is still struggling offensively and needs their third-year kicker’s production more than ever.
Reichard extended the NFL’s longest active streak to 31 consecutive made field goals and tied Fuad Reveiz for the second-longest run in Vikings history. Reichard connected from 47, 50, 33, 41 and 29 yards to match Reveiz, who hit 31 straight for the Vikings from Oct. 20, 1994, to Sept. 17, 1995.
Gary Anderson holds the team record with 35 consecutive made fields during the 1998 regular season, before infamously missing late in the NFC championship game the Vikings lost in overtime to Atlanta. Reichard has not missed a field goal since Oct. 23, 2025, in Minnesota’s loss at the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I think it’s just repetition,” Reichard said. “I’ve been doing this since I was in second grade. I’ve got a lot of reps in this thing, so you’ve just got to trust in it.”
Sunday’s slog against the Dolphins was more of the same on offense for the Vikings, who have been unable to find any rhythm this season, particularly in the passing game. Kyler Murray finally connected on some short passes in the second half that allowed the Vikings to move the chains and position Reichard for more precious points.
NFL kickers face plenty of pressure when lining up for a potential tying or winning field goal or extra point. But there is something unique about the role Reichard is playing on a 4-0 team that ranks near the bottom of most offensive categories. He has accounted for 31.3% of Minnesota’s total points, also handling all of the scoring on Sept. 20 when the Vikings beat Chicago 9-3.
“I just try not to think about that,” Reichard said. “Take every rep as its own. Move on to the next one and keep doing my job.”
Vikings fans have taken notice. So have his teammates.
“Will, he’s a dog, man,” wide receiver Jordan Addison said. “We need him. But we need to help him out.”
Murray paused and smiled when asked about Reichard’s prowess.
“I’m a little superstitious when it comes to kickers," Murray said, "so just keep on doing what he’s doing. He’s amazing."
Kicking with a different holder the last two games has added a new wrinkle to Reichard’s routine, but so far punter Johnny Hekker is perfect in place of the injured Brett Thorson.
It sure helps that Hekker was taking turns as the holder in training camp before Thorson beat him out for the punting job.
“DePao and Johnny do a great job, and our whole blocking team does a great job protecting me,” Reichard said. “It’s important no matter how the offense is playing to go out there and just trust my preparation and the guys in front of me.”
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Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard (16), with Dwight McGlothern Jr. holding, kicks a field goal against the Miami Dolphins during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard, right, with Dwight McGlothern Jr. holding, kicks a field goal against the Miami Dolphins during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Vikings place kicker Will Reichard leaves the field following an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Forces of Yemen’s internationally recognized government began a major offensive Monday against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on the country's Red Sea coast, under an intensified air campaign by the Saudi-led coalition.
The offensive came just after the rebels said they had captured more territory in the southwestern part of Yemen, taking a key town in a blow to the Saudi-backed forces as they advanced toward a strategic provincial capital in the region.
The Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said 100 fighter jets were providing support to the forces of Yemen’s internationally recognized government fighting against the Houthis. He said the coalition has secured “air protection” of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait and destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets as part of the ongoing campaign.
The campaign and its details could not be immediately independently verified.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that it was expected that the Saudi-backed government in Yemen would hit back at the rebels to reclaim territory. Asked if the Saudi-led coalition coordinated the action with the United States, Rubio said that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have a defense agreement but wouldn’t offer more details.
He said the Yemeni government was ousted from some of its territory by a Houthi campaign and the Saudis have come under attack, and “they have a right to defend themselves."
The U.S. has provided support to Saudi Arabia in its ongoing campaign against the Houthis, according to a regional official and a U.S. official. This U.S. support included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the offensive, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to reporters.
The U.S. had supported the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis early in the Yemen war, before quitting the coalition in recent years.
The Houthi rebels seized the town of Turbah on Sunday, shortly before the internationally recognized government announced a major military operation against them.
The escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has revived Yemen’s civil war after a four-year ceasefire.
Turbah sits on a main road linking the provincial capital of Taiz with the port city of Aden, which serves as an interim seat of Yemen's government. Over the years, the town was a major post for the government forces defending Taiz against the Houthis.
Earlier, the Houthis seized several villages and areas on Taiz's outskirts in a series of advances, paving the way for the rebels to encircle Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city.
The Houthis made a swift push on the country's western coast on the Red Sea in early September. They captured the strategic city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands, gains that enabled them to control the Yemeni side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial chokepoint through which 12% of global trade transits.
In its announcement Sunday, the Saudi-backed government said it was mobilizing troops across government-held areas.
Rashad al-Alimi, head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said in a televised speech that the operations were aiming at “recovering the remaining territories” controlled by the Houthis. He called on the international community to provide support to his government.
Hours after al-Alimi’s declaration, a Saudi military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, vowed “full operational support” to the Yemeni government forces, until the Houthis are “eliminated.”
Al-Malki also stressed Saudi Arabia’s right to take all necessary measures to deter the rebels who continued to fire missiles and drones at the kingdom as part of the nearly three-month escalation that revived Yemen’s civil war.
On Monday, factions allied with the Saudi-backed coalition fighting the Houthis said they launched offensives against the rebels on the eastern flank of the coastal areas that the Houthis had seized in their latest advances.
They attacked Houthi positions in the town of Dhubab, on the coast of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, said Col. Majed al-Nazili, spokesman for the Saudi-backed forces.
The Giants Brigades, a government-allied group, said it began a “decisive military operation against the Houthi militias,” also in the Bab el-Mandeb area.
Al-Alimi said in a post on X on Monday that the operation — dubbed “Yemen Dawn” — has started with the aim of “restoring state institutions, liberating" Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-controlled capital, and ending "the Houthi terrorist militia coup.”
Al-Nazili said government forces were carrying out a “strategic offensive” on Sanaa. The Houthi media office reported multiple airstrikes by the Saudi coalition on their territories, including Sanaa.
The latest flare-up began in mid-July, when the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing the airport in Sanaa to prevent the landing of an unauthorized Iranian flight. The rebels responded with missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government forces in the country.
They also announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and attacked several Saudi-linked vessels.
Then in September, they intensified their campaign, storming down the Red Sea coast in their biggest land grab in years.
The rebels' taking of Turbah “will likely severely constrain Yemeni government-aligned forces’ ability to reinforce and resupply front-line positions” across Taiz province and the provincial capital of Taiz, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
“Disrupting resupply has military value, of course, but controlling all the roads in and out of areas to the north of Turbah also prevents government forces from retreating out of the city,” the think tank wrote in a Sunday analysis.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis descended from their northern stronghold, capturing Sanaa and forcing the government to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia. The war created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters and killed more than 150,000 people.
The latest bout of violence has killed at least 959 people and wounded over 4,200 others, according to the World Health Organization. The flare-up forced about 174,097 people to flee their homes inside Yemen, according to the U.N. migration agency. More than 3,000 others fled across the waters into Djibouti, the agency reported.
Last week, Yemen’s health ministry — part of the internationally recognized government — warned about the conflict’s impact on health facilities and medical staff across Taiz province. The ministry said in a statement on Friday that health facilities in coastal, western and southern areas of the province have closed or are barely partially functioning.
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
A tea seller pours milk from a can as he prepares tea at a market in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Yemeni civilians celebrate while riding in the back of a pickup truck in the Bani Matar district, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, as they follow a convoy carrying Houthi prisoners freed in Mokha on its way to Sanaa following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
A man walks inside a damaged sponge factory in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
