D.J. Wonnum #98 of the Minnesota Vikings sacks Justin Fields #1 of the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field on December 20, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. ((Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - There was nothing pretty about it, but the Minnesota Vikings are 7-7 and in the NFC Playoff conversation with three games to play after a 17-9 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football.
Kirk Cousins was 12-of-24 passing for a career-low 87 yards and two touchdowns. Justin Jefferson, fresh off getting named to his second straight Pro Bowl, had four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. He passed Randy Moss for second in NFL history with 2,735 receiving yards in his first two seasons. He trails Odell Beckham Jr. by 29 yards with three regular season games left.
Ihmir Smith-Marsette added his first career touchdown, and Dalvin Cook had to grind out 89 rushing yards on 29 carries. The Vikings managed just 3.2 yards per play Monday night and were out-gained 370-193 in the game. Kirk Cousins was sacked a season-high four times as Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith, Robert Quinn and Alec Ogletree gave Cousins and the offensive line fits all night. But the Vikings got the win thanks to turnovers, Bears' penalties and ineptitude when the Chicago offense was on the field.
It's just never easy for the Vikings at Soldier Field.
"It’s always been a tough trip. Division games are always tough, they play extremely hard. I still believe they’re well-coached," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said after the win.
For Cousins, the 87 passing yards are the fewest in his 118 career starts. But what matters is bringing home a win.
"It's a tough place to come in and win. We got a win, and we'll take it," Cousins said.
The Bears had three turnovers, committed nine penalties for 91 yards and the Vikings got all three of their sacks on Justin Fields from D.J.Wonnum. Five of the nine penalties were personal fouls, including one on head coach Matt Nagy. It prompted Zimmer to have multiple conversations with his team during the game to stay disciplined.
"When you get your manhood challenged, sometimes you react and I talked to the offense, I talked to the defense about being composed and just doing our job," Zimmer said.
The Vikings managed less than 200 total yards, only 13 first downs and were just 5-of-17 on third down against a Bears’ defense that was without its entire starting secondary due to COVID-19 issues.
The Bears were missing at least 14 players Monday night themselves, but Fields’ touchdown to Jesper Horsted as time expired gave the Vikings a one possession game for the 13th time in 14 games this season. The Bears had the ball five times in the red zone, and until Horsted's touchdown, had just three points to show for it.
In addition to Wonnum's big night, the Vikings got fumble recoveries by Sheldon Richardson, Anthony Barr and Kris Boyd. They lost Eric Kendricks to an ejection after a hit to the head on Fields. The Bears’ offense had 24 first downs, but were just 2-of-12 on third down conversions and 2-of-5 on fourth downs. Richardson's forced fumble on David Montgomery in the second quarter ended a potential Bears' scoring drive, and Richardson had to convince Zimmer to challenge that the play wasn't down by contact.
"He promised me that it was a fumble. When I looked at him, I can’t say what he said but I said ‘I’m glad you were right.’ I said nice challenge to him," Zimmer said.
Cousins hit Jefferson for a 12-yard score to give the Vikings an early 7-0 lead. The Vikings had a 10-3 lead at the half, then took advantage of two Bears’ personal foul penalties on what would’ve been third down stops. Their first drive of the third quarter ended with Cousins hitting Smith-Marsette for a touchdown and 17-3 lead.
With a 14-point lead, both offenses got stuck in the mud. The Vikings and Bears combined for six punts and three turnovers on downs before the final touchdown. The Vikings had three straight 3-and-outs with a chance to put the game away in the second half.
The bottom line for the Vikings is they’re 7-7 with three games to play, and in the final spot in the NFC Playoffs. They host the L.A. Rams (9-4) Sunday, travel to Lambeau Field to face the NFC North champion Green Bay Packers (11-3) and host the Bears (4-10) to end the regular season.