Minnesota Vikings 30, Chicago Bears 27 (OT): Vikings Run Winning Streak To Four

Another effective game from the purple

The Minnesota Vikings made their annual trip to Soldier Field in Week 12, hoping to pick up a fourth straight win and keep pace in the NFC at the expense of the Chicago Bears. And, as it always seems to be lately, it was much more difficult than it needed to be.

The Vikings survived giving up 11 points in the final minute of regulation and botching an onside kick recovery to survive at Soldier Field as Parker Romo’s 29-yard field goal gave them a 30-27 overtime victory.

The Vikings marched down the field on their opening possession after a Chicago punt to start the game, but Aaron Jones fumbled the ball away at the 1-yard line with the Bears recovering for a turnover. The Bears dented the scoreboard first, courtesy of a 1-yard touchdown run from Roschon Johnson to give the home team a 7-0 lead, marking the first time the Bears had scored first in a game this season.

Minnesota got even on the first play of the second quarter, thanks to Jordan Addison. Darnold found Addison on the final play of the first quarter down to the Chicago 2-yard line, and on the first snap of the second quarter the pair connected again for a touchdown to tie things up at 7-7.

The touchdown pass was the 20th of the season for Darnold, which marks a career-high for him.

The Bears tried to take the lead midway through the second quarter on a 48-yard field goal from Cairo Santos, but the kick was blocked by Jerry Tillery and recovered by the Vikings near midfield.

An interception in the end zone on the ensuing drive was negated by a pass interference call on the Bears to put the ball at the Chicago 6-yard line, and two plays later Darnold connected with Jalen Nailor for a 5-yard score to give Minnesota the lead at 14-7.

The Bears narrowed things a bit before halftime, as Santos connected on a 49-yard field goal to make it 14-10 in favor of Minnesota heading into the locker room.

The Vikings got it back to a seven-point lead early in the third quarter, as Parker Romo connected on a 40-yard field goal to make it 17-10 about two and a half minutes into the third quarter. After the two teams struggled to move the ball for much of the third quarter, the Vikings caught a break when a Ryan Wright punt bounced off of Chicago returner DeAndre Carter and was recovered by Bo Richter at the Chicago 15-yard line. The Vikings took advantage of the mistake, getting a 3-yard touchdown run from Aaron Jones to extend the lead to 24-10 just before the end of the third quarter.

The Bears got within striking distance midway through the fourth quarter as Williams found D.J. Moore on a screen pass for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 24-16. The Bears then went for two and failed to convert, leaving it an 8-point game. The Vikings got the football back and got a bit of a scare when Darnold had to limp off the field after a hit, but Nick Mullens came in and converted a huge third down and kept the seat warm until Darnold came back into the game. Darnold then found T.J. Hockenson for another big third down conversion to keep the ball in Minnesota’s hands. The result was a 26-yard field goal from Parker Romo to make it 27-16 with just under two minutes remaining.

Chicago then put together a two-minute drive of their own, pushing deep into Minnesota territory and eventually getting a 1-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen to make it 27-22, and then finding D.J. Moore on the two-point conversion to make it 27-24 with less than 30 seconds to go. The Bears then went for an onside kick, and Chicago recovered to give themselves another opportunity after the kick went off of Johnny Mundt’s foot. Williams then found D.J. Moore to set up a 48-yard field goal attempt with seconds remaining. Cairo Santos lined it up and put it through to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The Bears won the overtime coin toss, and the Vikings’ defense stood up with a sack of Williams by Jonathan Greenard, his second of the afternoon. After the punt, the Vikings moved the ball down the field and got a huge play from T.J. Hockenson as Sam Darnold found him on a gain down to the Chicago 9-yard line to set up Romo’s 29-yard attempt. He put it through the uprights, and the Vikings survived their trip to Chicago with a win.

The win moves the Vikings to 9-2 on the season, guaranteeing another winning season for Kevin O’Connell and company and keeping them a game behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North as well as cementing their place in the top Wild Card spot in the NFC. The Vikings will now return home for a three-game homestand, starting this coming Sunday when they face the Arizona Cardinals.

The Vikings win their fourth straight and their third in a row on the road, defeating the Chicago Bears by a score of 27-16 at Soldier Field. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!