Bears at Vikes Game Wrap: Defense Rules to Secure 2nd Seed
Joe Oberle
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One a freezing subzero afternoon in downtown Minneapolis, the Vikings warmed the hearts of their fans with a 23-10 win over the Chicago Bears to secure the 2nd seed in the playoffs and a promise of a home game in two weeks at U.S. Bank Stadium. With a stifling defense and an okay offense behind an altered offensive line, the Vikings proved they might be the team to beat in January.
It was never pretty, but the Vikings did what needed to be done win the game—especially the defense, which held the Bears to just 201 total yards of offense. “They’ve got an edge about them right now; they don’t want to give up an inch,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. And one of Zimmer’s oldest players agreed they are a good defense.
“It got to be up there for sure,” veteran cornerback Terence Newman said of ranking the defense with others he has played on. “I’ve been on some pretty good defenses. My rookie year, I think we led the league in total defense. This one is just as good as any I have been on.”
Defensive end Brian Robison, who had the only sack in the game, walked through the jubilant locker room shaking every player’s hand and congratulating them on the season. The team has much to look forward to going forward.
The win, which puts the Vikings at 13-3 for the regular season, will send the team to the Divisional round of the playoffs (for the first time since 2009) and give them a week off for well-deserved rest. After bringing down the curtain on one of the best regular seasons in team history, the Vikings will watch the Wild Card games next week to see who will be coming to Minnesota the second week of January.
Trending
The Vikings defense came into the game as the number one defense in yardage (giving up 280.9 per game) and points allowed (16.1 per game), and they appeared determined to finish with those distinctions. All they needed to do was play below those averages and they would accomplish that. Although the special teams didn’t help them in the points department (a beautifully designed play that tricked the Vikings into thinking Tarik Cohen would receive a punt but instead went across field to Bryce Callahan went for a touchdown), the Vikings still were able to hold the Bears offense to just one first-half first down (12 on the game) and 1 of 12 in third down conversions—and they tacked on a safety of Bears quarterback Mitch Trubiskey. The Vikings defense finished off the game with a huge goal line stand at the end of the game—holding off the Bears who had first and goal at the two-yard line—which helped them preserve the points allowed title.
“That’s huge. That’s what you want to be—you want to be able to stop people from scoring points. That’s how you win ball games,” said Robison.
Case Keenum played an uneven game on Sunday versus the Bears, although little had to do with his play. In the first half, the offensive line didn’t always get him time to work and the Bears helped him with plenty of penalties. But he led the team on two scoring drives and had a 91.3 first-half rating (13 of 17 for 104 yards). In the second half, Keenum turned it up a bit, finally connecting with Stefon Diggs on a 15-yard touchdown pass (Diggs became the fastest Vikings to 200 receptions—even faster than Randy Moss, by the way). Keenum played the whole game and finished 21 of 28 for 189 yards and a score (for a 101.1 rating). It wasn’t his best effort, but he made some plays with his feet behind a makeshift offensive line and got the win for the Vikings.
On the opening drive, the revamped offensive line (with four players in new positions: left guard Jeremiah Sirles, center Joe Berger, right guard Mike Remmers and right tackle Rashod Hill joining regular left tackle Riley Reiff), looked like they wouldn’t miss a beat. They opened holes for the running game and gave Keenum plenty of time. But the Bears defensive started working them a bit, as the players adjusted to their new role. On the game they deserve credit for holding off a decent Bears defense and but hopefully they can get center Pat Elflein back and healthy for the playoffs. Purple success depends on a healthy offensive line.
Worth Defending
Linebacker Anthony Barr came into the game fired up to play. He was all over the field in the early going, looking to, perhaps, get the Bears down early and thus finish the game for the starters early, as well (that, unfortunately, didn’t happen). In the first three series for Chicago, Barr had three tackles, one solo and one for a loss (his ninth TFL on the season). On the day he had five tackles and two solo. Barr has played at a high level this season, which has been a nice rebound season for him from 2016 in which he struggled. His active play is a great sign for this excellent defense heading into the postseason.
Coming into the game, wide receiver Adam Thielen needed five catches to reach 90 on the season and secure an incentive bonus of $250,000. He got four in the first half (and took a nice hit on the third one). He got the fifth one in the third quarter and was testing his knee when he went off the field (he returned for his sixth two lays later). The question arises as to how long you keep players in the game when they are shooting for incentives when there is so much more at stake. But the Vikings helped out with that question by letting the Bears hang around in the game—as they needed a win to secure the 2nd playoff seed. On the game, Thielen finished with six catches for 61 yards. In addition, Thielen put up these numbers on the season:
91 receptions – 7th in team history
1,276 receiving yards – 9th in team history
20 20+ yard receptions – Most by a Viking since Randy Moss had 27 in 2003
“Honestly it’s not a personal goal, a lot of that is team,” Thielen said all the accolades. “We have the great defense that gives us a lot opportunities on offense. We have a quarterback that does a good job finding receivers. And we have a lot of guys who can make plays. On the offensive side of the ball, we have a lot of guys who make plays to help me get open, so it’s a team [thing]. So, I am just thankful for my team and coaches.”
Latavius Murray scored his seventh and eighth touchdowns (all rushing) on the year. He also rushed 20 times for 111 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and he worked hard for his yards. Jerick McKinnon, meanwhile, had 12 carries for 44 yards on the game. He does it with speed and quickness, turning inside plays outside for bigger gains (his 14-yarder set up the Vikings’ third touchdown), while Murray hits the line hard and grinds with power. This dynamic duo will be a huge asset for this team in the playoffs, as they need a decent running game to set up their passing game.
Should be Ending
Zimmer prefers his team to not make any mistakes, playing clean, as he calls it. The Vikings started off the game pretty well, committing just three for 25 yards in the first half. But they committed four more for 35 yards in the first half of the third quarter (a couple of them on special teams) and things went downhill from there. They finished the game with 12 penalties for 103 yards. It may have more to do with the nature of the game (the playoff spot was sewn up and the Bears had nothing to play for, not to mention a switched up offensive line), but those mistakes will kill you in the postseason, and we can assume Zimmer will remind them often in the coming weeks.
One of the goals of the game for the Vikings (in addition to getting a win) was to come out of it healthy and with no injuries. Fullback C.J. Hamm suffered a neck injury and didn’t return to the game, and Xavier Rhodes went off the field a little gimpy after a late-game tackle (he returned a couple plays later and made a great diving pass defense to prevent a Bears touchdown). That’s not bad, but any injury at this point is not good for the squad.
The temperature at kickoff was 11 degrees below zero (with a -28 degree wind chill). That can end anytime soon. Certainly the Super Bowl committee agrees doesn’t want it continue.
“There is no damn curse!”–Head coach Mike Zimmer.