Cousins, strong defense lead Vikings past Bears 19-13
Adam Thielen #19 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates with Dakota Dozier #78 after catching a pass for a touchdown during the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on November 16, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. ((Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - It wasn’t the prettiest at times, but the Minnesota Vikings don’t really care much about style points. They cared about leaving Soldier Field with their third straight NFC North Division win, and keeping their playoff hopes alive with seven games to play.
The Vikings accomplished both, led by Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen and a defense that shut down the Chicago Bears in the second half in a 19-13 win. Since a 1-5 start, the Vikings have won three straight games in the division, and they can get back to .500 with a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to start a three-game home stand.
“They just keep fighting, that’s all we do. These guys before the game they weren’t tight. You could tell in the locker room they weren’t tight. It’s three games, we’re fighting our way back into this thing hopefully, still got a lot of football left to play and hopefully we can keep going,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said after the win.
Cousins could smile and celebrate when it was over. He got his first career win on Monday Night Football, ending a previous 0-9 mark. He led to the Vikings to just their fourth win at Soldier Field since 2000. Cousins finished 25-of-36 for 292 yards, two touchdowns to Adam Thielen and one interception that slipped out of Thielen’s hands and into the chest of Khalil Mack.
With the Bears fully committed to shutting down Dalvin Cook, Cousins spread the ball around to seven different receivers. Cousins has taken heat in the past for poor performances on the national stage, but he made the big plays in Monday night’s win.
“As the season goes on, you start to kind of figure out who you are and how you play and who you lean on. It’s been nice to kind of figure ourselves out, find an identity as we play through things,” Cousins said.
“The whole team was cheering for him to get his first win on Monday night. Kirk did a phenomenal job with communication and going to the right places with the ball. Kirk had a tremendous game,” rookie receiver Justin Jefferson said.
Jefferson had a night of his own, making eight catches for 135 yards and becoming the first Vikings’ rookie since Randy Moss to get four 100-yard games in his first season.
Cousins hit Thielen twice for touchdowns, the first giving the Vikings a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a one-handed catch from 17 yards out. It was Minnesota’s first offensive touchdown in the first half at Soldier Field since 2014.
With a new play-caller on offense and Nick Foles at quarterback, Zimmer put pressure on the Bears most of the night. Chicago’s points included two first half field goals from Cairos Santos, and Cordarelle Patterson’s 104-yard kick return for a touchdown to open the second half. At the time, it gave Chicago a 13-7 lead.
The Bears finished with 149 total yards, averaged just three yards per play and Foles was sacked twice before being carted off the field late in the game with an injury. Chicago’s first four drives of the second half ended in punts, and the Bears had -2 yards in the third quarter. The Vikings held the Bears to just 2-of-11 on third downs, and had six tackles for a loss on the night. They limited Chicago’s run game to 41 yards, and just 2.4 yards per carry.
Harrison Smith added an interception for good measure, the 26th of his career, tying him for third-most since he entered the NFL in 2012. With several starters out, the Vikings’ defense is starting to find its rhythm with seven games to play.
“You don’t realize how hard it can be. You go out there and you have a game like we did today just across the board, it’s pretty rewarding. Definitely no time to let up. We’ve got a lot of momentum going, and need to build on that,” Smith said.
Dan Bailey hit a pair of field goals to get the game tied 13-13, and things changed for the Vikings’ run game when Akiem Kicks left in the second half with an injury and didn’t return. Cook finished with 96 yards on 30 carries, and 57 of those yards came after Hicks departed.
Cousins hit Thielen from six yards out to give the Vikings a 19-13 lead with 10:06 left. It ended up being the game-winning score. Cousins was 10-of-11 for 142 yards and both touchdowns on third down plays. As a team, the Vikings were 8-of-15 on third down conversions.
“I thought he played really fast, which is important for him. He was extremely accurate, he got the ball to the right places all night. I just felt like he did a really good job of handling what the defense was giving us,” Zimmer said.
The win didn’t come without a few headaches for Zimmer, particularly on special teams. There was Patterson’s kick return score, a bad snap on an extra point, K.J. Osborn nearly muffed a punt, they gave up a 34-yard punt return and failed to punt it inside the 10 in the final minute.
But a win is a win. Zimmer got his third road win at Chicago, and the Vikings improved to 4-5 on the season with their next three games at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
After a 1-5 start, the Vikings are one win away from getting back to .500 and putting themselves back in the playoff conversation.
“Just like I would say at the bye week when we had 10 games left, these 10 games are going to tell the story. Even after three wins, I would still say the same going forward. It feels like the next one or the next three are going to really tell the story,” Cousins said. “Until the last game is played and the final whistle is blown, you’re kind of always thinking about how you’ve got to build on it and get to the next one and keep it going.”