Vikings take care of business with 30-12 win over Bears
Everything the Vikings want to accomplish is right in front of them.
After clinching a playoff berth over the weekend, the Vikings earned the right to set their sights on taking back the NFC North, a pursuit that started with the game against the Chicago Bears on Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.
In front of a national audience, the Vikings took care of business with an impressive 30-12 win over the Bears, making a statement about themselves in the process. The win also helped the Vikings (12-2) pull even with the Detroit Lions (12-2) in the NFC North with a few weeks to go.
Not that head coach Kevin O’Connell wants his players look too far down the road.
“We’re going to continue to just try to get better,” O’Connell said. “The whole mantra of getting better and getting better is a consistent everyday thing.”
The message has been heard loud and and clear.
“It means everything is out in front of us,” right tackle Brian O’Neill said. “We know where we’re at and we know what the stakes are. It’s a good motivator knowing what’s out there for us to take. I think everybody is going to buckle down and put their foot on the gas and hopefully finish these next few weeks really strong.”
The vibes couldn’t have been much better for the Vikings to start the game.
After honoring legendary receiver Randy Moss before kickoff with a very special moment featuring former teammates Cris Carter and Jake Reed, the Vikings immediately forced a turnover on downs when edge rusher Jonathan Greenard and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery combined to stuff a run for no gain.
That put the Vikings in good field position, and while they stalled out after a few plays, Will Reichard connected on a 52-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
On the next possession, Greenard made his presence felt again, sacking Williams to force a fumble, which was recovered by linebacker Blake Cashman. Asked about the play after the game, Greenard replied, “A strip sack is the best feeling in the world.”
This time around the Vikings took advantage of the good field position with quarterback Sam Darnold throwing a touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson to extend the lead to 10-0.
Not long after that, Darnold uncorked a pass downfield, and it seemed as if the Vikings were about to run away with the game. Instead, Jefferson dropped a surefire touchdown pass near the goal line, taking the blame by patting his chest and holding his hand up in the air as soon as it happened.
It got worse from there, as head coach Kevin O’Connell left the offense on the field on fourth down only to have Darnold throw his first interception in more than a month.
Luckily for the Vikings, the defense continued to dominate, forcing another turnover on downs, which led to Reichard nailing a 31-yard field goal to make it 13-0 at halftime.
Just when it looked like running back D’Andre Swift had plunged into the end zone to give the Bears some life after halftime, the touchdown got wiped off the board because of an illegal substitution. A few plays later, the Bears had to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Cairo Santos to cut the deficit to 13-3.
That’s when the Vikings took complete control. They put together a 12-play, 70-yard drive, relying heavily on the ground game before running back Aaron Jones plunged into the end zone to make it 20-3.
After the Bears settled for a 39-yard field goal from Santos to make it 20-6, the Vikings put the game away for good when running back Cam Akers plowed his way into the end zone to stretch the lead to 27-6.
As the game wound to a close, the Vikings pulled most of their starters, which allowed Williams to throw a touchdown pass to Keenan Allen to cut the deficit to 27-12. In the final minutes, Reichard tacked on a 46-yard field goal for good measure to finalize the score at 30-12.
“They didn’t score a touchdown until late in the game so that’s a win for us on defense,” safety Cam Bynum said. “Just being able to hold them without a touchdown is the goal every single time.”
What did the win mean to the Vikings in the immediate aftermath?
“It’s a great feeling,” Greenard said. “We all understand what we’re still chasing after. We’re not going to look too far ahead. We’re just going to continue to look at it week by week with a 1-0 mentality.”
That’s exactly what O’Connell is asking of his players.
“You can never, ever rest in this league because everybody’s improving,” O’Connell said. “The great teams in this league are going to play their best football towards the end of this month and on into the next. We want to be one of those teams. We know we’re going to have to go earn every single thing.”
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