Vikings - Bears

The Minnesota Vikings sweated out a 29-22 win over the Chicago Bears. It was a strange game. The Vikings came out rolling. The offense could do nothing wrong on their first three possessions. It was 21-3 halfway through the second quarter. The Vikings were cruising. The Bears were stumbling. Then it turned into a typical Vikings-Bears game. A struggle. 

Through four games, the Vikings special teams has been a strength. It was special teams miscues that allowed the Bears to get back into this game. With about four minutes to play in the first half, rookie punter Ryan Wright shanked a punt for 15 yards. That and a holding penalty set the Bears up nicely at midfield. That 21-3 lead was soon 21-10 and the Bears had a pulse. Greg Joseph missed 50-yard field goals on either side of halftime to continue the special team miscues. The Bears pulse strengthened. 

After the three beautiful drives to start the game, the Vikings offense didn’t score again until the deciding touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The non-scoring possessions had moments but all ended ugly: shanked punt, missed field goal, missed field goal, interception. All of those possessions started well as each reached into Bears territory. Unfortunately for the Vikings and fortunately for the Bears, all ended ugly. 

The Bears took advantage of those ugly endings. They scored after each one. Touchdown, Touchdown, field goal, field goal. Just like that, the Vikings 21-3 was a 22-21 deficit. The Bears were cruising. The Vikings were stumbling. 

That’s when the Vikings offense returned to the way they started the game. With 9:26 remaining, the Vikings took over on their own 25-yard line. The critical possession didn’t start well as a false start penalty pushed the ball back to the 20-yard line. 17 plays, 7 minutes, and 80 yards later, the Vikings were in the end zone with a Kirk Cousins “power run” up the middle. A two-point pass to Justin Jefferson made it 29-22. The Bears needed a touchdown. 

This game wasn’t decided until Vikings corner Cam Dantzler Sr. took the ball from Bears receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette with about a minute to play. It was a tremendous hustle play. Smith-Marsette caught the Fields pass, straight-armed Dantzler to the ground, and turned up the field. He had 15 yards, a first down, and the ball on the Vikings 39-yard line with just over a minute to play. The Bears were in a great place. Dantzler was having none of that as he popped up, caught Smith-Marsette, and literally took the ball from him. Dantzler spun around and headed the other way. Instead of trying to score, he slid to the ground after 15 yards so that the offense could run out the clock. The Bears would not see the ball again. This was a great, heads-up, game-sealing play. It was the second time that Dantzler had gotten the better of his former teammate. Both were huge plays. Earlier in the game, Smith-Marsette’s block in the back of Dantzler wiped out a 52-yard Justin Fields touchdown run. This is a very different game without either play. Hopefully, this is a springboard game for Dantzler. He’s got terrific talent. It feels like he’s on the cusp of playing to that talent. 

Kirk Cousins started the game in ridiculous fashion. He completed his first 17 passes. He was so calm and confident in the pocket. Justin Jefferson, of course, was a frequent target of those passes. For the game, he had 12 catches for 154 yards. Most of those catches and yards were in the first half. Jefferson even tossed a pass to Dalvin Cook for 23 yards. Cook ran well. 18 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Those first three possessions is a glimpse of what this Vikings offense could be. So was the game-winning drive. It’d be nice to see that sort of offensive efficiency for the entire game. The Vikings gained 429 yards (312 passing, 117 rushing). It could’ve been so much more. 

The Vikings defense is still a work in progress. The coverage has tightened since receivers were running free in Philadelphia in Week 2. That’s good. The run defense did pretty good against a Bears team that runs the ball very well. The Bears gained 271 total yards (193 passing, 78 rushing). The strong running Bears only averaged 3.3 yards per carry. If not for a few runs by their quarterback, that number would’ve been much smaller. The Bears running backs totaled 31 yards. If the Vikings defense had a problem with the Bears offense, it was dealing with Justin Fields’ run-pass versatility.

Fields has had a rough passing start to his second season. This was probably his best game. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. This game was a step in the right direction for the young quarterback. 

It was a good day for the Vikings. Any day with a Vikings win is a good day. It was especially good as the Vikings were the only team in their division to win. The New York Giants upset the Green Bay Packers in London. The New England Patriots shut out the Detroit Lions. It was a very good day. The Vikings are 4-1 heading into a Week 6 matchup with the Dolphins in Miami.