Second Half Takeaways Propel Vikings to Week 6 Win over the Bears
The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears squared off on Sunday in an NFC North battle at Soldier Field.
Both teams entered the weekend with 1-4 records hoping to avoid being the only team at the bottom of the division.
For the Vikings, it would have been their first time since 2020 where they sat alone in the basement of the NFC North. Luckily, it did not happen as some second half takeaways propelled Minnesota to a win over Chicago.
Second Half Takeaways Propel Vikings to Week 6 Win
This game was largely a defensive showdown, something that could not have been expected coming in. Through the first five weeks, both teams had been bottom-10 groups in terms of points allowed, but that was not the case on Sunday.
After Chicago punted on their opening possession, the two teams went back and forth with three straight field goal drives, with the Vikings on top 6-3 midway through the second quarter. Greg Joseph nailed a pair of field goals from over 50 yards to lead Minnesota to the early lead.
The Vikings passing offense was conservative for most of this game with Kirk Cousins finishing his day completing 21 of his 31 passes for just 181 yards and a touchdown.
They also went through a few mishaps with a fumbled backwards pass that luckily landed harmlessly out of bounds before LB T.J. Edwards could recover the ball. Then, Kirk Cousins was hit as he let a pass go, and the duck fell into the waiting arms of Tremaine Edmunds.
Luckily, though, the turnovers would not come back to bite the Vikings. Immediately after the turnover, Jordan Hicks was able to intercept an errant Justin Fields throw which set up the Vikings with a chance to create a lead going into the second half.
They would do just that as Kirk Cousins orchestrated an eight-play drive that went for 77 yards and resulted in Jordan Addison’s fourth TD catch in the NFL. As halftime arrived, the Vikings entered the locker room ahead 12-6 after Joseph’s extra point was blocked.
The second half saw no points from Minnesota’s offense, but they were catalyzed by the defense which performed wonderfully. They, of course, benefited from QB Justin Fields leaving the game with a hand injury and being replaced by Tyson Bagent.
On Bagent’s first drive for Chicago, he lost a fumble near midfield that was scooped up again by Hicks and returned for Minnesota’s only touchdown of the second half, giving Minnesota a 19-6 lead.
Bagent would bounce back, though, leading a strong touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that was capped off by a touchdown run that he took into the end zone himself, cutting the lead to 19-13.
However, on Chicago’s ensuing drive to potentially take the lead, Bagent launched a pass that was intercepted by Byron Murphy, giving the Vikings their third takeaway of the game.
This allowed the Vikings to run out the clock with under two minutes left, and they were able to capture their second win of the season, improving to 2-4.
Next week, Minnesota will head back to U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the San Francisco 49ers, who fell to the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. Meanwhile, the Bears fall to 1-5 and remain at home awaiting a matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.