Kevin O’Connell does not treat the kicking game as an afterthought, and as the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings come out of their bye to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the head coach made clear that the third phase is built into how his staff prepares for every game day.
Speaking at his midweek news conference, O’Connell said that good special teams play has to be planned for rather than assumed, and he called the unit’s work this season “something I’ve been really proud of.” The timing matters: Minnesota is 5-0, and the visitors lost their last game in part because of a breakdown on a punt.
"You know we expect to do well in that phase, but you have to emphasize it and you have to make that part of how you plan for game day. It's been something I've been really proud of this year." – Coach Kevin O'Connell on the importance of special teams pic.twitter.com/9Qkm2ecYVT
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 21, 2026
Matt Daniels and the room he runs
O’Connell gave much of the credit to special teams coordinator Matt Daniels. He pointed to the way Daniels connects with his players and runs his meetings, and to the energy he brings, describing the group as “the family within the family of our team.”
The results back up the praise. In Week 2 at Chicago, Isaiah Rodgers got a hand on a late kick that would have tied the score, preserving a 9-3 win and earning the conference’s weekly special teams award. Seven days later, early at Tampa Bay, Myles Price fielded a punt and went 86 yards to the end zone to make it 10-0 in a game it won 23-16. It was the first punt-return score anywhere in the league this season and the Vikings’ first since Marcus Sherels in 2016. Price finished that afternoon with 238 return yards, a franchise record for one game, and took the same weekly award. Those were the seventh such honors earned under Daniels.
Kicker Will Reichard has been the steadiest piece of all. He went 14 for 14 on field goals across Minnesota’s wins in Weeks 2 through 5, including makes from 54, 55 and 56 yards. In the two closest of those games, the 9-3 win at Chicago and a 15-10 win over Miami, every Minnesota point came off his foot.
Why it matters against Indianapolis
The Colts arrive at 2-4 after a 26-20 home loss to Tennessee on October 18. With that game tied at 13 early in the fourth quarter, the Titans blocked a punt and Oluwafemi Oladejo returned it 14 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Punter Rigoberto Sanchez is listed as questionable with a right foot injury, so Indianapolis could be thin at the one spot Minnesota has been best at exploiting.
O’Connell also expects help from the stands at U.S. Bank Stadium. He said the home crowd will make for an electric atmosphere and that his players have to hold up their end of it.
On the injury front, O’Connell said running back Jordan Mason, who is in his 21-day window to return from injured reserve, enters the game as questionable and is trending toward being available. No other Viking carries a designation.
What comes next
The Colts visit the Vikings on Sunday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. EDT in Minneapolis; follow it in the Game Center. Minnesota then visits Detroit on Sunday, November 1, while Indianapolis travels to Jacksonville the same day.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.