UGLY YET NECESSARY

VIKINGS 17

BEARS 9

If you happen to be new to Vikings football in 2021, what you saw on Monday night was basically every Vikings at Bears game for 20 years. Every game is gross. It feels like they're all 17-9. Smart observers have come to just expect this.

For the 2nd time in 3 weeks, this was the Vikings going on the road in the division to play a bad team they had to beat. But unlike the Detroit debacle, this time the Vikings did what they had to do to keep themselves in the thick of the wild card race.

Going in many expected the Vikings to finally blow somebody out. The Bears are not just bad, but riddled by COVID absences. Their whole secondary basically was out. But the 2021 Vikings couldn't blow out Rutgers. Just the way it is.

Pretty quickly we saw that this was not going to be some aerial show. The Vikings 2nd drive got in the endzone on a Kirk pass to JJ. Then after Dantzler stripped Justin Fields on the following possession we were able to add a field goal. Just a 10 point lead, but it turns out that was already enough.

Still, we had almost 3 quarters of football left. At points the Bears offense did move the ball. They gashed us a few times on the ground. Fields got a few plays through the air and a couple with his legs. But nothing was really sustained.

We got a big turnover in the first half where Sheldon Richardson tore the ball loose in the redzone, and convinced Zimmer to challenge the play. That cost the Bears at least 3. The Vikings defense certainly was strong in the redzone all night.

Chicago did get a field goal late in the first half, adding to our season long trend of giving up late points. It looked like they might get more when Kirk lofted a deep pass to nowhere, which was easily picked off and run inside the 50. Why would Kirk throw such a duck? Well, maybe because Jefferson was absolutely tackled off the line. Either JJ was the intended target, or Kirk saw what happened and assumed a free play. But the refs decided not to call it, and the Bears had a scoring chance.

That scoring chance went up in smoke when Dalvin Tomlinson blocked the ensuing field goal try. So no harm, really, other than being annoyed at the refs, who had a dreadful night.

The Vikings were able to bump the lead up early in the 3rd. Helped out big time by a pair of 3rd down personal fouls, the Vikings were able to go down the field, where Ihmir Smith-Marsette caught his 1st career touchdown.

The only other point it looked like the Vikings were in any real danger came a short time later. We 3 and out deep in our own end, then get the punt blocked, giving the Bears a short field. But on a 4th and short Matt Nagy decided to roll Fields out, and DJ Wonnum tracked the rookie down for one of his 3 sacks on the night and a turnover on downs.

This game should have been firmly put away, but we just couldn't do it. We go 3 and out again, recover a muffed punt, but only go backwards and have to punt.

Chicago put a drive together, helped along by an awful roughing call on James Lynch and a preposterous ejection of Eric Kendricks. But we held on defense and a 4th down endzone heave did not come down in bounds. We stopped them on 4th down in the redzone yet again after this. The Bears didn't find the endzone finally until the very last play of the game, which officially made this the 13th one score game out of 14 this year, even if this one was never that much in danger. 

But we didn't reach dagger territory until very late. Why? Well, the same reason that has made the Bears such a pain in recent years. They pressure the passer very well. We never block them very well.

I was actually quite surprised the Vikings won a game at all in which they were so clearly dominated in the trenches. Christian Darrisaw was back, and struggled, but Mason Cole at RG was absolutely clowned all night. It seemed that every snap he was being shoved back into Kirk's lap, causing sacks or misthrows.

And the other half of this evergreen issue is that, yet again, we did not appear to have an OC interested in doing anything to work around this issue or minimize the problem. Klint Kubiak never did a thing to help this offense along. It was ultra conservative. We ran the ball a ton, but Dalvin Cook's numbers were only 28 for 89. A few chances in the passing game failed, cause we can never see to make contested catches. And all game long we never had any short routes to help Kirk get the ball out quickly. Is there nobody other than Adam Thielen who can run these routes?

This time it didn't cost us, like it did against Dallas or Detroit. Sure we were just playing a bad team with a rookie QB already flirting with being a bust, but you give up just 9 points on the road you did good.

Kirk Cousins threw for a career low 87 yards on just 12 completions. It was hilarious watching the KCDS crowd and the QB WINZ cult twist themselves into knots on this one. Suddenly the statline DOES matter, and when Kirk has a poor one yet wins, NOW wins are suddenly not solely credited to the quarterback. 🤔🤔🤔

It was an ugly win, but these are all season on the line games now. I don't care if we win 2-0. Just gotta win. Chicago is a terrible place to play. Mike Zimmer, whatever his flaws, has somehow managed to go 4-4 in that hellmouth stadium.

Week 15 ends with the Vikings back in that 7 seed, though tied record wise with the Eagles and Saints. If the Vikings win out, they are in. Hard to imagine that though with the Rams and a Lambeau SNF trip the next 2 games. I think a 2-1 finish will get it done, cause I don't see any of these other teams winning out either.

Putting aside the ever present danger that COVID could knock key players out at any time, I think the Vikings can do this. I think they can beat the Rams. I simply cannot fathom them blowing a potential win and in home game against Chicago again. Maybe the Packers won't need that SNF game as bad as we do and we play inspired.

No matter what, it seems like total destiny that this season will come down to the final minutes of the final game.