The Packers have plenty to worry about when they line up against Minnesota, but one of the most dangerous problems is hiding in plain sight: Myles Price.
Green Bay’s special teams under new coordinator Cam Achord have been mostly steady, with a few bumps along the way. The Packers have done especially well in coverage, allowing the fourth-lowest average per return on punt returns and the 10th-lowest figure on special teams overall. That fits with the areas Green Bay has traditionally emphasized, and it’s been a welcome sign this season.
Minnesota, though, has been even sharper in the return game. The Vikings lead the league in punt return average at 17.5 yards per return and sit second in kickoff return average at 29.9 yards per return. They’ve also produced an 86-yard punt return and a 68-yard kickoff return, but even without those splash plays, their numbers would still rank among the league’s best, dropping only to fifth on punt returns and third on kickoff returns.
Price is the engine behind all of it.
The 5-foot-9, 183-pound undrafted rookie out of Indiana was strictly a special teams player for Minnesota last season. In 2025, he averaged 9.9 yards on 30 punt returns and 25.9 yards on 60 kickoff returns, with a long of 43 on punts and 61 on kickoffs. Solid production, but nothing that screamed game-breaker.
This year, that’s changed in a big way. Price leads the NFL in punt return yardage, owns the longest punt return in the league, and is the only player in the NFL to score on a punt return this season. He’s also the only Viking to return either a punt or a kick this year, which means those eye-catching team rankings are basically all on his shoulders.
Green Bay knows the attention will be on Brian Flores, and Kirk Cousins may be enough to lift Minnesota’s offense into respectable territory. But if the Packers don’t handle Price and the Vikings’ return game, they could give away a real edge in a matchup that’s expected to be tight. In a close game, that kind of hidden yardage can swing everything.
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