Minnesota Vikings coach firmly on the hot seat after another major mistake cost them dearly vs. Green Bay Packers

It’s brutal how poor the unit has been this year.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Nov 23, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Myles Price (4) muffs the punt return as Green Bay Packers safety Zayne Anderson (39) defends during the second half at Lambeau Field.
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings continue to trip over themselves during games, especially on special teams.

This entire season, the special teams units have been the biggest reasons for the Vikings’ success and failures. They have blocked multiple field goals that helped them flip the field, and kick returner Myles Price is good as a returner, even making a case to be a potential All-Pro.

The overall special teams unit has been up-and-down, but the down continued on Sunday afternoon, and it was a catastrophic mistake that cost them the game.

Matt Daniels is firmly on the hot seat

After getting a stop to start the third quarter, the Vikings were down 10-6 and had a chance to take the lead. It didn’t happen that way, as Price let the ball land behind him and did his job to block the gunners trying to down the football. Unfortunately, the Packers blocked him into the ball and recovered it inside the 10-yard line.

This is the kind of mistake that you cannot allow to happen. How much of that lands on Price is up to interpretation because he was doing his job. Was someone yelling out “Peter” to just clear out the area, and Price didn’t hear it? He certainly screamed it on the next punt, seemingly emphasizing it.

These are the mistakes that Daniels’ unit continues to make, and it’s why he’s firmly on the hot seat, which I wrote about last week.

The Vikings are tied for third in special teams penalties with 18, and they have impacted the Vikings to a tune of 606 yards, per TruMedia. What’s even worse is how much it’s hindered the Vikings on kickoff returns. They lead the league in penalties on kickoff returns with 12.

That has been the biggest factor for the Vikings’ issues on special teams, wiping out multiple huge returns, including a 99-yard touchdown return by Price. There are also schematic issues with the units, and that is all on Daniels. Having explosive plays doesn’t matter a whole lot when you keep shooting yourself in the foot.

These mistakes cannot continue to happen, and they haven’t stopped all season. It’s arguably why the Vikings are struggling so much, because when they happen, you can feel the team deflate afterward.

A move likely won’t happen until after the season, but it needs to.

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