Minnesota Vikings Outlast the Chicago Bears in Overtime 30-27

The Vikings held off the Chicago Bears in overtime, winning the game by a score of 30-27. The Vikings had several big plays, and these along with some crucial mistakes and penalties by the Bears, allowed Minnesota to leave Chicago with the win.

Darnold Struggled Until End of First Quarter

The Bears opened the scoring with a 7-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a one-yard Roschon Johnson touchdown run. Sam Darnold was out of sorts and struggled for most of the first quarter until an offsides penalty was called on the Bears. 

Then he had a long 45-yard completion to Jordan Addison to get them inside the 5-yard line. Vikings then struck on the first play of the second quarter with a two-yard pass from Darnold to Addison again, this time in the endzone for a touchdown. 

The Bears saw a Caleb Williams to Keenan Allen 24-yard hookup negated by a challenge that overturned the call. The following play was a field goal attempt that the Vikings blocked.  A pass interference call against Jayl0n Johnson got the Vikings down to the 6-yard line. Darnold connected with Jalen Nailor for a five-yard touchdown pass. 

Williams spread the ball out on the last drive of the half and completed passes to several receivers before the Bears had to settle for a 49-yard Cairo Santos field goal. The teams went into their locker rooms at halftime with a score of 17-10 in favor of the Vikings.

Addison Shines Costly Bears Penalty

On the Vikings’ first drive of the half, Addison stayed in bounds to get the ball down to the Chicago 8-yard line for a 69-yard gain. Aaron Jones lost yardage on a run before a Darnold sack. Which ultimately killed the drive, and the Vikings settled for a 40-yard field goal by John Parker Romo.

Williams completed a long pass to DJ Moore for 37 yards. The Bears got tricky on the next play as Moore tried to throw the ball to Rome Odunze, but Cam Bynum made a nice play to break it up. The Bears went for it on fourth down, but Williams sailed a throw through Allen’s hands for a turnover on downs. 

A defensive pass interference call on Jaylen Johnson gave the Vikings the first down.  DeAndre Carter muffed the punt, and Bo Richter of the Vikings was there to pick up the fumble. Jones got redemption and ran for a two-yard TD. The Vikings led 24-10. The Vikings had 10 points off their special teams units from the Bears’ mistakes. One was the blocked field goal that the Vikings led to a Minnesota field goal and the muffed punt that turned into a rushing touchdown for Jones. 

Teams Go Back and Forth

Vikings went for it on fourth down in the final quarter, but T.J. Hockenson dropped the pass, and the Bears took possession. Chicago turned that into a touchdown drive of their own. Williams had a few nice scrambles, and the drive was capped off with a 10-yard touchdown reception by Moore. They could not convert on the two-point conversion, and the Vikings led 24-16. 

Vikings had a terrible start to their next drive as Jones got tackled for a loss, and Darnold got injured on the next play while he avoided a sack but got hit at the end of the play. Jones started gaining steam again as Nick Mullens completed a short pass that was turned into a first down. Jones ran for 11 yards on the next play.

Darnold re-entered the game and completed a pass to Justin Jefferson for a touchdown, but it was called back due to a penalty on Brandon Powell for an illegal pick. Then Darnold completed a pass to Hockenson for 34 yards, which put the Vikings into the red zone. The drive stalled, and the Vikings had to settle for a Parker Romo 26-yard field goal. Vikings led 27-16 with less than two minutes left in the game. 

Lots of Almosts for Both Teams

DeAndre Carter almost broke off kickoff return for a TD before Dallas Turner took him down at the Vikings 40-yard line. Stephon Gilmore narrowly missed an interception when Williams sailed a pass to Odunze. The Bears converted on fourth down with another pass to Odunze. Next, Williams avoided the pass rush and got an easy completion to Keenan Allen for a one-yard touchdown. The Bears converted the 2-point attempt, and the Vikings lead shrunk to three points, 27-24.  

Bears converted their first successful onside kickoff of the season. The ball bounced off Johnny Mundt’s leg and Camryn Bynum’s hands before the Bears recovered it. Williams got a big completion to DJ Moore and spiked the ball to stop the clock. Santos nailed the field goal attempt, and the score was tied 27-27 as the game went into overtime. 

Vikings’ Defense Holds Strong

To start the overtime, Caleb Williams had all kinds of time to find an open receiver but was sacked by Jonathan Greenard for a 12-yard loss. A delay of game penalty followed this, and the Bears failed on a 3rd & 26 attempt. They were forced to punt on fourth down.

Darnold started the Viking’s possession, taking a huge sack, but he held onto the ball. Then he completed a pass to Hockenson, followed by a pass to Addison to convert on 3rd down. There was an extended timeout/break for a chain gang member who fell over.  Jefferson got his second reception of the game for 20 yards.  Then Hockenson caught a pass for 29 yards that got the Vikings inside the 10-yard line. 

Darnold took a knee to get in a better position for a field goal. Parker Romo nailed the 29-yard field goal attempt to win the game for the Vikings.  Final Score 30-27