Everyone copes with losses differently. Some get angry, some make excuses, and some just blatantly refuse to acknowledge reality.
Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels would fall into the "blatantly refuse to acknowledge reality" category after his team gave up a huge return to the Chicago Bears and kickoff returner Devin Duvernay on Sunday.
Daniels minimized the Bears' strategy on the play, saying that "anyone" could have run to the field side with the lack of discipline his coverage unit had, and busted off a big return. Unfortunately, it's a lack of accountability that only serves to make Daniels look bad and bring even more awareness to the excellent strategy by the Bears on that particular play.
Vikings special teams coordinator refuses to acknowledge the Bears beat him at chess
#Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels says “anybody” could’ve done what Devin Duvernay did on the #Bears final kick return, and it was more so on Minnesota’s mistake than Chicago’s scheme:
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) November 18, 2025
“I've been in the league now eight years, played football a long time in this… pic.twitter.com/P6ME3SN6GJ
At 26.2 yards per kickoff return, Devin Duvernay is enjoying the second-best year of his NFL career (outside of his rookie year) in the kick return game. Kicking him in that situation was a mistake in the first place. Beyond that, as multiple Bears fans pointed out in the replies to that post, it wasn't the first time they'd run a counter return and had success with it in that same game.
The huge 56-yard return from Duvernay was obviously crucial in setting up the game-winning field goal for the Bears, and was something the Vikings should have never let happen in the first place. Even with touchbacks coming out to the 35, you give the opponent as long of a field as you possibly can in that situation, and give your defense a chance.
The Vikings' special teams coordinator is the reason that didn't happen, and he's refusing to admit it.
Bears fans are laughing all the way up from first place at this stage. When you lose the chess match as an NFL coach, it is a direct shot at your pride. Every coach responds to that differently, but in this instance, you see just how badly this loss hurt the Vikings, who seem to be unraveling a bit these days.
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The Bears have bigger fish to fry with the Steelers on deck, and a gauntlet of NFC opponents after that. They're going to need more big plays like this from Duvernay and the special teams to keep playing complementary football when it matters most.