The barrage of Chicago Bears’ takeaways started with 11 minutes, 43 seconds to play in the second quarter Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs lofted a pass to wide receiver Jordan Addison on the left sideline, and Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson leaped into the air to pull it down.

Bears safety Jaquan Brisker was next. A Dobbs pass in the second quarter bounced off Addison’s hands, and Brisker dived forward.

Then it was linebacker T.J. Edwards’ turn. Johnson broke up a third-quarter Dobbs pass to K.J. Osbourn, and Edwards hopped as he caught it.

Finally, nickel Kyler Gordon jumped in on the action in the fourth quarter, diving to pull in a football that defensive tackle Justin Jones nearly secured himself before he bobbled it.

When the Bears were done in Minneapolis, they had intercepted Dobbs four times to help drive a 12-10 Bears victory, the team’s first in the NFC North under coach Matt Eberflus. In the last two games against the Detroit Lions and Vikings, the Bears have eight takeaways, including seven interceptions.

“We’re playing good coverage on the back end,” Johnson said. “The rush is getting there, causing the quarterback to make some bad decisions. Rush and coverage, coverage and rush, it all goes together.”

The Bears had nine quarterback hits and two sacks on Dobbs, who threw for 185 yards, with new Bears defensive end Montez Sweat responsible for 1 1/2 of those sacks.

The night, of course, wasn’t perfect. The Bears allowed the Vikings to march 77 yards for their only touchdown of the game when Dobbs hit tight end T.J. Hockenson in the middle for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 5:58 to play in the fourth quarter. The play put the Vikings ahead 10-9.

But when Bears quarterback Justin Fields fumbled on the ensuing drive, giving the ball back to the Vikings, the Bears forced a three-and-out to give Fields a chance to lead the winning drive. Kicker Cairo Santos made a 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to win it.

That stop was big for a Bears defense that allowed the Lions to come back from 12 points down to win the game in Week 11.

Eberflus, whose team also blew a 21-point lead against the Denver Broncos earlier this season, hopes that finally being able to finish could have lasting effects on the team moving forward.

“We came out after last week, we wanted to do the same thing but just stick a knife in it,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said. “We wanted to go four quarters. It wasn’t pretty. We have some things to clean up on that touchdown drive, but overall defense, I feel like we played lights out.”

For the second time against the Vikings this season — the Vikings won 19-13 in the teams’ first meeting — points were at a premium. The Bears scored just three points off the four takeaways.

The Bears punted after the Johnson and Brisker interceptions in the first half. Bears kicker Cairo Santos made a 55-yard field goal following Edwards’ pick. And Bears quarterback Justin Fields lost a fumble after Gordon’s interception.

But Johnson said the defense didn’t let that affect their mindset as they built momentum against Dobbs, who entered the night with six interceptions in 11 games.

“They don’t score, they don’t win,” Johnson said. “We never flinched. Just put it on us. At the end of the day, you can’t win a game if you don’t score. So that’s our mentality every time we step on the field.”

Beyond the takeaways there were other big plays, including when Gordon pushed Hockenson out of bounds 1 yard short of the first down on fourth-and-7 on the first drive of the third quarter. Johnson, who lamented missed interceptions against the Lions, nearly had a second pick Monday.

The Vikings totaled 242 yards of offense, their second-lowest output of the season behind only the 220 yards in the first meeting with the Bears.

“Defense creates momentum in a lot of different ways,” Eberflus said. “They do it through third-down stops, they do it through big hits, and they do it through taking the ball away. That’s what we always preach to the guys, and they did all three things today.”

Monday’s performance came against a Vikings defense missing starting quarterback Kirk Cousins and star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who are out with Achilles and hamstring injuries, respectively.

But that doesn’t damper the Bears’ hope that the last two games have started a turnaround for their defense.

During training camp in August, the Bears spoke highly of what the unit could do. But dealing with injuries to multiple key players, they entered Monday night’s game with just 13 takeaways, tied for 24th in the NFL.

Now, they feel like they’re building themselves back into what they can be.

“We’re getting into our groove, into what each of our players do (best),” Gordon said. “We’re playmakers, so once we get in our groove, the chemistry keeps building, it’s special.”

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