SOLID TUNE-UP

VIKINGS 29
BEARS 13

The Vikings final regular season game didn't mean anything. Barring a mammoth upset of the 49ers by Arizona (which didn't happen) the Vikings were locked into the 3 seed and a matchup next week against the.Giants. 

I didn't much care if we won. I cared far more about whether or not we came out of this game without any more injuries. 

A handful of guys were inactive, but KOC did play the first team for the first half. 

Chicago sat Justin Fields, in favor of the legendary Nathan Peterman. Many Bears fans probably wanted to lose so they would have a chance at the #1 draft pick. 

The Vikings looked willing to oblige them. Kirk hit KJ Osborn on a season best 66 yard bomb, setting up a short TD to Thielen. Greg Joseph missed the PAT, because of course he did. It didn't portend doom. Neither did Dalvin Cook's fumble as we were moving on the next drive. 

Chicago never got anything going on offense. Yeah, they stink, but when our defense has at times been lit up by the likes of Mac Jones, Mike White, and, well, Justin Fields, you gotta take what you can get. 

Alexander Mattison, who ran great today, got in the endzone. Then, after the Bears went to Tim Boyle at QB and he threw an arm punt to Patrick Peterson, we tacked on a field goal. 

Our defense got sloppy after we went up 16-0. We gave up a quick TD drive, ending in a long run along the sideline where we blew the tackle and maybe were expecting the play to be whistled dead. Gosh, why would the Vikings ever expect a play to be whistled dead early? 🤔🤔🤔

Our offense also got sloppy at the end of the half. We had some really poor clock management, forcing us to rush the field goal team out as the waning seconds ticked off. Joseph actually hit the field goal just in time but review showed we had too many men on the field. 

Still, this 16-6 lead was enough. It was time for the backups.

And a lot of the backups looked okay. Nick Mullens did throw a pick late, but mostly looked good. Jailen Nailor made some nice grabs. Irv Smith got back out there for the first time since October. CJ Ham caught a few. Mattison got a 2nd TD. Joseph rebounded with a couple field goals, one from 50. 

Even the backup OL looked okay. Chris Reed, when he was out there with Kirk, didn't have nearly the issues with snaps and timing that he did last week. Oli Udoh looked fine. Again, you have to acknowledge the competition, but the quality performance was badly needed.

Duke Shelley got a late pick against the team that cut him, which helped seal the deal. Hell, the Vikings never even punted until the final minutes. It was a very workmanlike performance, as they got their first multi-score win since week 1.

And most importantly, no major injuries. Cook was out briefly and Chandon Sullivan had to come out late, but the Vikings pretty much got out unscathed. 

Arizona briefly flirted with making it a game out in San Francisco before being buried, so it will indeed be a rematch from 2 weeks ago with the Giants, who themselves rested most of their key guys today. This will be a very tough game. The Giants were a 61 yard field goal from taking us to OT on Christmas Eve. We now have no Brian O'Neill and still don't know if we will have Garrett Bradbury.

But these are worries for the week ahead. 

For now, let's take a moment to appreciate what we just saw. The Vikings just completed one of the beat regular seasons in the history of the franchise. 13-4. For a team with a rookie HC and GM and largely the same roster that had just delivered a pair of 9 loss seasons. And against a schedule that proved to be a lot harder than we thought it would be 4 months ago. 

We saw Justin Jefferson have one of the greatest seasons ever for any wide receiver. We saw this team go an unprecedented 11-0 in one score games. Included in there were 7 4th quarter comebacks. Included in THERE were two of the most memorable games I've ever seen, the amazing OT win in Buffalo and then literally the greatest comeback win in NFL history over the Colts. 

This is a special team and a special season, no matter what the playoffs have in store for us. It's a pity there are so many so-called Vikings fans out there who have either been unable to or refused to enjoy a minute of this great season. I've been a fan since 1987 and this is easily one of the best seasons I have ever seen. It's been magic. Time to see just how far that magic can take this team. 

Bring on the Giants. 

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