In a game filled with big play after big play, Matt Kalil's block of a Jacksonville Jaguars' extra point in the second quarter may go overlooked. But that play was vital.
The 6-foot-7, 308-pound Kalil blocked Josh Scobee's point after attempt, limiting the Jacksonville lead to 9-0. Had the Jaguars converted that point, the Vikings would not have been able to tie the game at the last second of regulation with a Blair Walsh 55-yard field goal. Instead, the opportunity was still there, Walsh kicked it right down the middle and the Vikings won in overtime.
Kalil knows the value of each and every point, writes Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
"My attitude is every point counts," Kalil said. "Whatever I can do to help in any way to stop them from (scoring). Luckily the situation worked out where that helped."
Kalil was a good enough blocker on the offensive side at of the football at USC to warrant a fourth overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, but he was excellent at blocking kicks in college as well. Kalil blocked six field goal or extra point attempts in his college career. He hoped to continue playing on the field goal block team in the NFL and, lucky for him and Minnesota, the Vikings gave him that chance.
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