The Minnesota Vikings kicked three field goals during a rainy, soggy football game in Chicago. The Bears kicked only one. A 9-3 NFL game feels like a foreign thing in the current era. This game was more like one played in the 1970s.
9-3. After running up 59 points against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, Bears head coach Ben Johnson boasted about his offense challenging league scoring records. He’s probably whistling a sad and different tune after running into the Vikings defense. For four quarters, the supposed offensive wizard had no answers for the defense Brian Flores put on the field. That defense was outstanding.
Caleb Williams is always a challenge. He’s probably the league’s most difficult to catch and tackle quarterback. He also has the arm to make throws to anywhere on the field from anywhere on the field. It’s a damn shame that he left the game with an apparent hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter. That injury happened inside the 10-yard line. Tyson Bagent is a skilled backup but that’s a difficult entry with the game on the line. The Bears had to settle for a field goal attempt. Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers blocked the game-tying, chip-shot attempt to keep the score at 6-3. The Vikings offense only had a couple sustained drives on the day. One of them followed the big special teams play by Rodgers. The drive ended with a field goal with just over a minute to play and gave the Vikings a 9-3 lead. The Bears needed a touchdown with just over a minute to play. That final field goal was ultimately the difference in the game. Last week, the Vikings rode a late fourth down stop of the Green Bay Packers for a Week 1 win. Yesterday, the Vikings rode this blocked field goal to a Week 2 win.
Unlike most football fans, I kinda like gritty, defensive football games. Not every game has to be a shootout with bewildered and sloppy defenses. The respective offenses may have left plenty to be desired yesterday but it was a rainy day and a soggy surface. The Soldier Field turf is often a problem on the best days. Consistent rain just mucks up a football game.
The Vikings are now 2-0 and on top of the NFC North. The two wins are also against division foes.
While the Vikings defense was terrific throughout the game. They still needed a couple singular plays to preserve the win. Isaiah Rodgers was involved in both. Each came with the Bears threatening the Vikings goal line. On the opening possession of the second half, Caleb Williams guided the Bears offense to the Vikings one-yard line. On first-and-goal from the one, Vikings defensive lineman Jalen Redmond stripped D’Andre Swift of the football and Rodgers recovered the fumble. If he’d recovered the ball cleanly, he’d probably have gone 99 yards for a score. No one was catching him. Instead, he had to fall on the ball to secure it. A quarter later, he had that blocked field goal. In those two plays, Rodgers kept the Bears from scoring as much as 10 points. He nearly had a third gigantic play to seal the win. Instead, his interception at the goal line was ruled out of bounds. For what it’s worth, I thought that he had both feet in the field of play before his heel hit that white stripe. The Vikings had to withstand two more Bears offensive plays from their own 12-yard line. It was a nervy two plays. Rodgers might not have sealed the win with a third big play but edge rusher Dallas Turner did.
Through two weeks and two wins, Dallas Turner might’ve been the Vikings best football player in both games. Last week, he harassed Packers quarterback Jordan Love all day. Yesterday, he did the same thing to Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent. Again, Williams is difficult to catch and even more difficult to get to the ground. Turner did it once. He also sacked Bagent to end the game.
The entire Vikings defense was great. Dallas Turner, Isaiah Rodgers, and Jalen Redmond highlighted the team play with the biggest plays.
The Vikings didn’t generate a lot of offense. 246 total yards and 11 first downs won’t win a lot of games. Against the Bears, it was enough. Carson Wentz managed the game. Aaron Jones Sr. ran for 105 yards on 23 carries. His rushing and Justin Jefferson’s 55 receiving yards were nearly two-thirds of the Vikings modest offense. It was that sort of day.
12 total points. With the meager scoring, it was interesting that each team scored a field goal on their first possession. So, half of the 12 points were scored in the game’s first ten minutes. Ben Johnson’s high-scoring offense couldn’t score again. The Vikings chipped in two more field goals.
There were so many positives for the Vikings defense. One that must be mentioned is the solid play of first-round rookie defensive tackle Caleb Williams. With several more snaps than the first week, he made some plays. He got washed into the traffic of teammates on one play but the rest of his snaps looked positive. He was involved in six total tackles and had a tackle for loss. That was nice performance and a step forward for the gigantic rookie.
Defense!
I can’t wait to see this Vikings defense on the field again. Up next is a road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3.
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