One Viking Is Getting Oh So Close
If you watch every Minnesota Vikings game — you probably do if you’re reading an article like this — it’s apparent that kick and punt returner Myles Price is getting so damn close to paydirt.
The Minnesota Vikings have a 4-4 record at the moment, and one particular playmaker is getting so damn close to paydirt, you can taste it.
Close isn’t good enough, though, and for some reason, the special teams unit just cannot get out of its way, creating penalties that wipe out Price’s theatrics.
Vikings KR/PR Myles Price Nearing the Big One
It’s just a matter of time.
Dumb Holding Penalty Wipes Out 99-Yard Price TD
Minnesota ended up toppling Detroit in a must-win game last weekend, so the infraction won’t be remembered forever in the annals of Vikings history.
Yet, on the “what could have been,” Price scripted this nifty return:
The play was all for nil, however, as cornerback — mostly a special teamer — Tavierre Thomas was flagged for holding, wiping out Price’s touchdown, a score that could’ve broken the game open and caused Minnesota to win decisively.
No cigar for Price — again.
A Theme
Cancelling Price’s 99-yard touchdown was a standalone travesty. That alone was a special teams miscarriage.
A longstanding problem persists, as well. This article was written for the sole fact that this keeps happening. Price has broken off about five impressive returns in 2025 that were later called back because of yellow laundry on the grass. In fact, when Vikings fans watch Price do his damage, they can’t even get excited. They watch the bottom of the television to determine how many seconds until the FLAG box appears.
That’s a true story.
Price is averaging 26.4 yards per kickoff return, a number that would be even higher without his teammates’ follies. He checks in at 9.6 yards per punt return, which ranks near the middle of the business.
Stop the flags for Mr. Price.
Special Teams Are Good Overall
Outside of the damn penalties, the Vikings’ special teams are pretty nifty.
Here’s the special teams pecking order per DVOA through nine weeks:
1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Washington Commanders
3. New York Jets
4. Miami Dolphins
5. Tennessee Titans
6. Houston Texans
7. Minnesota Vikings
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s worth noting that DVOA does not factor in penalties.
How Long Until Lift-Off for Price?
Price is absolutely destined to return a kick or punt for a touchdown soon. It’s building. One of these games, his team won’t hold or do something silly, and the paydirt will stand.
Sizing up the next several games, here’s where Minnesota’s upcoming opponents rank per special teams DVOA:
- Baltimore Ravens: 10th
- Chicago Bears: 27th
- Green Bay Packers: 25th
- Seattle Seahawks: 1st
- Washington Commanders: 2nd
- Dallas Cowboys: 13th
If you’re in the prediction business, perhaps circle the Bears or Packers game for Price’s big moment.
Kevin O’Connell on Price
The Vikings’ skipper said after Week 9 about Price, “Myles Price continues to show up. Myles is gonna give us a chance. I think he had 164 return yards, which all those field position plays, all those times where we can flip the field, and then I thought, even though it wasn’t, super exciting in the fantasy football world, I thought the to win the field position, it just felt like outside of that one sequence where we were backed up. . .we had the field position where we wanted to allow our defense to go out and get a stop, where that turnover, that drive started backed up, got him into a third and long.”
VikingsWire‘s Andrew Harbaugh on the dynamic returner: “The Minnesota Vikings have been dealing with a variety of issues on both sides of the ball. However, their special teams unit has been one of the bright spots on the team throughout 2025. Whether it is Will Reichard and his field goal efficiency, or Ryan Wright flipping the field for the defense with his punts, it has all been working for them.”
“However, what is being overlooked is the return game and the work of Myles Price. The UDFA rookie out of Indiana has been a spark plug in their return game in 2025, and on Sunday against the Lions, he had his biggest game of the year. He was consistently getting big returns for the Vikings from their first kickoff return to the final whistle, and it all added up in the end.”
Price is an undrafted rookie from the University of Indiana and is just 23 years old. He’ll be in the Twin Cities for a while.
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