Nov 24, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) enters the field before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings toppled the 4-6 Chicago Bears on Sunday by a score of 30-27, using some late-game, survive-and-advance tools to achieve a 9-2 record.
Operations weren’t perfect in the win — they rarely are — but Minnesota now has a 98% chance of participating in the postseason, according to DVOA.
The Vikings next play the Arizona Cardinals at home, but before that, these are the seven main takeaways from Bears-Vikings.
A virus infects every Vikings game at Soldier Field. Each time the clubs meet at that building, weirdness, sloppiness, flukiness, or madness ensues.
It’s the proverbial “throw the win-loss records out the window,” and Sunday was no different. No matter which team is good or bad — Minnesota and Chicago are rarely good simultaneously — the game will be competitive at Soldier Field.
The annual showdown should be studied. Sunday’s recovered onside kick can be the first chapter of the book.
Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, and Stephon Gilmore propelled Minnesota to a triumph in Chicago.
Others contributed, too, but my, oh my — where would Minnesota be without a flawless 2024 free-agent class?
Kickers shouldn’t be applauded for connecting on 29-yard field goals. It would be like telling Shaquille O’Neal, “Nice dunk,” in 1995.
But this is the Vikings we’re talking about here, and a hefty fraction of the fan base thought Romo might miss the game-winner. He did not, and that deserves a special call-out from the snakebitten kicking franchise.
Let’s put it this way: Minnesota has won four straight games, and most feel something like, “Okay. I guess that’s good.”
Because the purple team is no longer dominating opponents, the wins don’t feel euphoric. However, they count the same in NFC standings, so onlookers should applaud the recent four-game splurge. The franchise needed it after dropping back-to-back contests to the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams.
If Minnesota loses the next six games, it still might get in the postseason. That’s how well operations have hummed this season.
In reality, though, and to be safe, the Vikings probably need a 1-5 record the rest of the way to reach the postseason tournament. And that’s pretty wild, considering sportsbooks thought they’d win six or seven games when the season began.
Addison posted a career game when the Bears sold out multiple defenders to stop Justin Jefferson.
Their anti-Jefferson plan worked; stifling Addison did not. Addison tormented the Bears for 8 receptions, 162 yards, and a paydirt. The guy has playmaking engrained in his DNA, and the strands were vividly evident in Week 12.
Scheming a defensive gameplan to thwart Jefferson really doesn’t matter when Addison and T.J. Hockenson feast.
Vikings fans have spent a couple of months wondering if a Sam Darnold regression would surface. Two weeks ago, that fear materialized in Jacksonville.
Yet, not many have wondered if Darnold will have the juice to thrive in the postseason. To date, fans’ mindset has revolved around avoiding an in-season collapse.
Well, on Sunday, Darnold led Minnesota down the field in overtime’s final drive, dishing dimes to any playmaker who looked his way. The reclamation-project passer played incredibly clutch, and when the Vikings inevitably call upon him for such drives in January, he proved that he has the sauce at Chicago.
A good omen, indeed.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.