Vikings Territory Breakdown: Vikes Roll Bumbling Bears
Strange Days, Indeed: Vikes Roll Bumbling Bears in Chicago
The Minnesota Vikings headed into Week 15 with the season on the line (lather, rinse, repeat) and they travelled to Soldier Field where strange things have taken place in the past (lather, rinse, repeat). So how does this version of Purple Helmeted Warriors handle the Chicago Bears in a nationally televised game on Monday Night Football? There is no amount of shampoo that will wash away that stench of that game from our football memories.
The Vikings beat the Bears 17-9 in one of the stranger games ever to be played between the two teams in Chicago (which is truly saying something), and they somehow came out of it with the 7-7 record and the seventh playoff spot (for the time being). The Vikings started well on offense with an early Justin Jefferson touchdown, but quickly sputtered, only to be helped by the referees to a second touchdown drive in the third quarter—and that plus a field goal was enough.
The Vikings never took advantage of a completely depleted Bears secondary (thanks to a fierce Chicago rush and an underwhelming performance by the Vikings offensive line). And quarterback Kirk Cousins only had 87 passing yards (a personal low as a starter), while the offense itself put up a mere 193 yards.
The defense won the game for Minnesota, holding the Bears to a mere three points until the last second of the game and preserving the win. But the best actor nod in a supporting role for the win goes to the Bears offense under rookie quarterback Justin Fields and embattled head coach Matt Nagy. The Bears moved the ball between the 20s fairly well, but turnovers, penalties and stalling in the red zone really did in the Monsters of the Midway—who played monstrously. The Vikings, for their part, are still alive and kicking and have plenty to work on before their next game. But the headline is the strange occurrences taking place whenever the Vikings enter Soldier Field, and we are here to regurgitate them all from Monday night.
Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, who was in the Windy City, joins Joe Oberle to examine this latest lavender mess on Vikings Territory Breakdown. It won’t be pretty, but it will definitely get you ready for the next game, noon on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium versus the LA Rams.
Watch the entire episode or listen on your favorite Podcast provider.
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