Only at Soldier Field

The Vikings squeaked out a win after a completely wild ending

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By Matthew Coller

CHICAGO — I present you with a Vikings-Bears game at Soldier Field, everyone. That was the only way it could go, right?

The Vikings defeated the Bears 30-27 on an overtime game-winning drive by Sam Darnold in a game where Minnesota controlled the scoreboard for nearly the entire contest and then let it slip away at the end on the back of an onside kick and Caleb Williams last-second matchup.

But Darnold would not let his team fail, going 6-for-6 on his lone OT drive to set up the game-winning field goal.

The Vikings walked out winners of four straight games. Was it goofy, ugly and baffling at times? Yep. It also resulted in the Vikings walking out 9-2. And maybe the biggest development is the gaining confidence of the quarterback.

Here’s how it went down…

The Vikings kicked off to Caleb Williams to open the game. They probably wanted it that way to show the rookie QB what he would be dealing with from the jump. On the first play, Flores put everybody at the line of scrimmage and then dropped them out. Ivan Pace Jr. blitzed and the Bears held him. One play, mimus-10 yards for the Chicago offense. On third-and-5, the Vikings pressed all the Bears receivers, daring Williams to hang in the pocket. He threw short again and Andrew Van Ginkel knocked it down. Punt.

Sam Darnold took over at the 26-yard line on a sunny Chicago day. Unusual in comparison to the many games at Soldier Field that have been dreary and ugly.

Aaron Jones opened the possession with his best run in a few weeks. On third down, Darnold had time to throw and completed a pass to Jordan Addison for a first down. Then Jones broke free for a 41-yard gain to bring the Vikings inside the 10-yard line. That was fast.

But it wouldn’t be the Vikings red zone offense without a complete screw up. In attempt to prove that they can actually run the ball in from the goal line, Jones took a handoff and slammed into the pile. The ball was ripped out of his hands by safety Jonathan Owens and recovered by the Bears, adding to a season’s worth of disaster inside the red zone.

Last week a similar situation resulted in a 98-yard touchdown by the Titans. It wouldn’t exactly go like that but Williams’s scrambling ability was on display on third down when the Vikings got pressure and he ran for a first down. On third-and-11, one of the league’s worst third down offenses retained that title with a quick pass that went nowhere and the Bears punted.

An already messy start got more messy when Jordan Addison dropped as pass to the flat and left tackle Cam Robinson stayed down. He walked off very slowly. Everyone knows how bad that would be for the Vikings offense considering Robinson has solidified that position after the injury to Christian Darrisaw. On third down, Darnold got a collapsing pocket and tried to check it to CJ Ham but he couldn’t bring it in. Punt.

To start Chicago’s third drive, Williams threw into traffic and nearly had his pass picked off by Van Ginkel but it found its way through a key hole to Keenan Allen’s hands. Nobody else was around and Allen picked up a 40-yard gain.

Williams then made it extremely, wildly clear why he was the No. 1 overall pick. At full speed, he scrambled away from the Vikings rush and dunked a perfect throw down the sideline for a 30-yard completion to D’Andre Swift. Very Mahomes-like, you have to admit.

The Bears slammed forward for the touchdown, 7-0. Analysis: The Vikings at Soldier Field, man. Yeesh.

The Vikings got the ball back needing to score and get things calmed down. Cam Akers took over in the backfield and sprinted forward for a first down to get them onto Chicago’s side of the field.

Darnold pulled out the cannon and launched a bomb to Jordan Addison, who leaped up over his defender (who clearly committed interference but it wasn’t called) and pulled in the deep shot for 45 yards. It brought the offense to worst part of the field: The goal line.

Do you believe in miracles? They finished off the drive with a touchdown pass to knot the game up at 7-7.

Williams pulled off another ridiculous rocket throw that was nearly picked by Cam Bynum to convert on third-and-long. You have to think that Williams’s impressive throws could also fall under the category of: playing with fire. The Vikings have been a turnover juggernaut this year.

Not on the next play though. Williams got time to throw, stepped up in the pocket and whipped the ball deep down the sideline. Keenan Allen, Vikings killer, reached up and brought in the ball. Upon a challenge, it was determined that Allen’s foot was out of bounds as he was coming down. Very, very close play that could be a game-changer. The Bears had to kick a field goal.

You know how that goes: The Vikings blocked it. Jerry Tillery got his hand up and knocked down the kick.

What a shift in the vibe.

Darnold went for another shot play, this time to Jefferson. The throw sailed over him for an interception but that only happened because he was being dragged down the field by the Bears defender. After 35 free yards, the Vikings were in scary territory again: The goal line.

Do you believe in miracles? Two straight goal line touchdowns, this time on a throw to Jalen Nailor. 14-7.

With a chance to respond, Williams had a couple rookie plays. He took a sack when Jonathan Greenard broke through and took him down for a big loss and then he nearly threw an interception but it wasn’t hauled in by Bynum.

With 4:50 left, the Vikings had a chance to break Chicago’s spirit.

Williams converted a third-and-3 pass to DJ Moore and then rookie Rome Odunze picked up a first down on a swing pass. The Bears ran up tempo and hit Allen to get their offense rolling. Another completion to tight end Cole Kmet brought Chicago’s offense to the Vikings 35-yard line. But Williams got flustered after his receiver stayed in bounds and the clock ran down and down to 15 seconds. The Bears settled for a screen pass and another field goal attempt.

This one went off without a hitch and the Vikings entered the half with a 14-10 lead.

At half, the Vikings offense was only on the field for 9:31 of the first half. Something to keep an eye on.

Well, they might not have improved time of possession to start the second half but it did begin with a huge successful play. Darnold fired a pass across the middle to Addison, who screamed open and made the reception for a 69-yard gain down the sideline. Freeing 3, as always, a good choice.

Fewer good choices were made after that. A huge negative run was followed by a sack and tipped pass, forcing the Vikings to attempt a field goal. Parker Romo took care of business and the Vikings took a 17-10 lead. No goal line miracle this time but points nonetheless.

As the skies grew more cloudy and typical Chicago-like, a Solider Field-y thing happened to the Vikings. The Bears ran a screen to DJ Moore that broke free for a 37-yard gain. Chicago’s new play caller then tried to put his stamp on the game with a trick play but Bynum broke up Moore’s attempted bomb to the end zone.

The Bears went for fourth down and Williams threw high for Allen, incomplete. A big stop for a Vikings defense that has been on the field all day.

The Vikings were looking at another potential dagger opportunity but they left the door open instead. Darnold took a short sack on first down and then Jalen Nailor couldn’t bring in a low third down pass. Punt.

Chicago did the Vikings a favor though. Tight end Cole Kmet dropped an easy first down pass. Punt.

For the first time in a long time, the run game returned. Jones picked up seven yards on first down. With a seven-point lead and possession time on the Bears side, running could be quite helpful. Not to mention the left tackle being out. On third down, the Bears got flagged again for grabbing Jefferson, giving the Vikings a free first, and then back-to-back runs pushed forward for a first down.

With a seven-point lead and 5 minutes left in the third quarter, Darnold tried too hard to force a pass into coverage and it got broken up. However, the Bears’ special teams struck again. Ryan Wright’s punt hit the returner and Bo Richter jumped on the ball.

Red zone adventure time. Darnold hit Addison for a first down bringing the Vikings into the nightmare zone: the 3-yard line. Do you believe in miracles? Jones scored a 2-yard touchdown run, putting the Vikings up by 14 points with 1:22 left.

Was that the dagger or will Williams make something happen? Early results: Dagger. Williams went three-and-out with and the Bears punted back to the Vikings.

At the start of the fourth, the Vikings had an opportunity to bury the Bears.

They took over at the 35-yard line and instantly pulled off an eye-popping play. Darnold tossed the ball up over a Bears defender to TJ Hockenson, who Moss’d his defender for a 20-yard gain. A holding penalty set them back but Darnold hit back-to-back passes to set up fourth-and-1 at the Bears 36-yard line.

If Will Reichard was in they probably would have kicked the field goal and started up the planes home but with a backup kicker they were not so sure. Darnold lined up to sneak the ball but Chicago put three guys over the center and they called timeout. Then Darnold threw incomplete to Hockenson on a play where he could have scrambled for a first down.

Door open still for Chicago with 12 minutes left.

Williams scrambled on back-to-back plays and picked up a first down at midfield. Then he threw a bullet pass to Kmet over the middle for another first down to the Vikings 26-yard line. Facing fourth-and-4, Williams pulled off more escape-artist madness and converted a third down with his legs again. Two plays later, touchdown.

What a drive by the rookie QB to keep his team in the game. Chicago went for the analytics move of going for 2 after scoring a TD to bring it to 8 points. But Williams missed on the pass to keep it 24-16.

Lotta time left.

After pressure got to Darnold and he threw the ball out of bounds, it appeared he tweaked his ankle and Nick Mullens came off the bench. What else would Kevin O’Connell do other than let him pass the ball? Mullens completed a throw underneath to Aaron Jones for a huge first down. Darnold returned after that with a chance to run the clock down.

Addison continued his incredible game, catching a high screen pass for eight yards to set the Vikings up with third-and-2. A first down would bring them closer to shutting this down. It looked like they did with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson but the Vikings committed interference on a pick play and negated the touchdown. On third-and-long, they did it again. Darnold dropped an absolute dime to Hockenson for a massive first down.

Parker Romo kicked a field goal to put the Vikings up 11.

Game over? Well, it wasn’t quite over yet. The Bears’ special teams finally showed up with a long return. Dallas Turner saved a clear touchdown by tracking down the returner at the 40-yard line.

Williams kept fighting, hitting Odunze for a 14-yard gain, then finding Kmet and tossing a touchdown Allen. Then he converted the two-point conversion to make it a 3-point game.

Chicago recovered the onside kick. Oh my goodness.