The Vikings did not need long to change the feel of their Week 1 meeting with the Buccaneers. After a steady opening drive and a Will Reichard field goal, Myles Price delivered the first explosive moment of the 2026 season with an 86-yard punt return touchdown that pushed Minnesota into a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
It was the kind of play that can reset a game in an instant. Price fielded a Riley Dixon punt at his own 14-yard line, found space, and turned it into the first punt return touchdown of the 2026 NFL season and the first touchdown of his NFL career.
A sudden swing after a measured start
The Vikings had already shown they could move the ball on their opening drive, going 40 yards in seven plays before Reichard finished the possession with a field goal. But that was controlled football. Price’s return was the opposite: one burst, one clean lane, and one decisive score that changed the scoreboard immediately.
For the Vikings, that is the value of a returner who can turn a routine punt into a major moment. The Buccaneers had barely settled into the game when Price broke away and gave Minnesota a two-score cushion at 10-0 with 8:43 left in the first quarter.
Why the play mattered
Special teams scores do more than add points. They change momentum, put pressure on the opponent, and give a team room to settle into the rest of the contest. In this case, Price’s touchdown did all of that at once.
It also gave the Vikings an early lift in a game that had already featured Kyler Murray returning after being cleared from his Week 1 concussion. But the headline moment belonged to Price, whose 86-yard runback was the sort of season-opening play teams remember long after the final whistle.
