Kevin O’Connell has such a sunny disposition that Brian Flores caught people’s attention when he said the Minnesota Vikings head coach has a dark side. However, everyone saw O’Connell unleash his wrath when he yelled at special teams coordinator Matt Daniels in the waning minutes of Minnesota’s 19-17 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell’s reaction after the Bears long kick return with less than a minute left in the game. pic.twitter.com/oUCEgIZ1lE

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 16, 2025

With 50 seconds left in the game, following Minnesota’s go-ahead touchdown, the coverage unit allowed Chicago returner Devin Duvernay to take Will Reichard’s kickoff 61 yards to the 40-yard line. Three plays later, Cairo Santos hit the game-winning field goal as the clock expired, dropping the Vikings to 4-6 on the season.

“Unfortunately, we made a ton of plays in that football game to help us go out and win it,” Daniels said on Tuesday. “[But] when the team needs it the most, we find a way not to answer the bell.”

Daniels could highlight Reichard being perfect (one field goal, two extra points) in a season where he’s only missed two kicks. Ryan Wright’s 45-yard punt on Minnesota’s penultimate possession forced the Bears to start from their 18-yard line. Chicago punted the ball back to the Vikings eight plays later, setting up J.J. McCarthy’s potential game-winning drive.

Perhaps most importantly, Myles Price’s 43-yard return to Chicago’s 24-yard line early in the fourth quarter set up Minnesota’s first touchdown. Two Jordan Mason runs later, the Vikings cut the Chicago’s lead to 16-10, setting up a potential game-winning drive later in the final frame.

McCarthy’s 10-play, 85-yard drive to take a 17-16 game wins the game for the Vikings if they don’t give up a big return and contain Chicago’s offense on the final drive. Santos had already missed a 45-yard field goal earlier in the fourth quarter. If the Vikings keep the Bears on the other side of the field, they are 5-5 heading into Lambeau, and the Bears are 6-4.

“When you look at the totality of the football game,” said Daniels, “it really emphasizes the significance of how this one-play phase we live in, the magnitude of how it can change the outcome of games, along with the momentum.”

Case in point: Minnesota’s coverage on its final kickoff.

Not easy to see here, but on the decisive KR yesterday, 4 Vikings players — Tai Felton, Ivan Pace Jr., Austin Keys and Tyler Batty — got bunched up on the left hashmark. Wide open hole toward the right sideline. Eric Wilson ran from the far side of the field to track it down. pic.twitter.com/POWn4q5rEO

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) November 17, 2025

“Guys got greedy out there, looking to make the play, and I totally understand and get it,” said Daniels. “But at the same time, there’s a level of discipline that we had to have at the most precious moments, and that’s every moment for us. Because again, it’s a one-play phase that carries a lot of weight in the football game.”

According to ESPN’s metrics, the Vikings had a 75.1% chance to win after McCarthy hit Jordan Addison for the go-ahead touchdown. However, Duvernay’s return gave Chicago a 66% chance to win. Minnesota now has a 2% chance of making the playoffs, according to The Athletic.

“All week, we talked about Duvernay catching the ball in that corner [to the right] and going to the wide side of the field [on the left],” special-teamer Tavierre Thomas, the widest defender to the left of the kick-coverage formation, told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “All I can say is guys got to do their job and trust the coaching.”

Ivan Pace Jr. and rookies Austin Keys and Tai Felton abandoned their lanes on the far left side of the front line and over-pursued to the right as Duvernay cut hard the other way and slipped through a big gap between rookie Tyler Batty to the inside and Thomas to the outside.

“There’s supposed to be two guys between me and Tavierre,” Batty told the Star Tribune. “We just need everyone staying in their lanes and netting the field the way we should.”

The play was emblematic of Minnesota’s special teams as a whole. Daniels seems to assess talent well, but has an imperfect unit. Reichard is 19 of 21 on field goals, and one may have hit an overhanging cord in London. Ryan Wright is PFF’s sixth-ranked punter.

Daniels also develops players. Josh Metellus was once a Vikings special-teamer who became a vital part of their defense, and 2023 fourth-rounder Jay Ward seems to be coming into his own this season. In addition to his special-teams role, Ward played six snaps in place of Isaiah Rodgers when Minnesota was evaluating him for a concussion.

“[Ward has] done a lot of good things in the kicking game,” said defensive coordinator Brian Flores. “He’s been one of, obviously, the best players in that phase. He had a really good training camp.

“There was a kind of a spot there where we felt like we could get him in there, and he could create a little disruption for us. He did that, so it wouldn’t be surprising if his role grows a little bit more.”

Myles Price seems capable of housing any punt or kick. However, he’s fumbled three times this season, and holding penalties have negated multiple long returns. Fumbles on kickoffs often give opposing teams good field position, which they capitalize on; holding can indicate that the Vikings don’t have the right personnel to block on kickoffs.

Such is the topsy-turvy nature of special teams. The Vikings are doing a lot right in the third phase. However, as we learned on Sunday, it can be devastating when they don’t do their job.