Sunday’s regular-season finale between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears contained as much suspense as a Hallmark movie. Everyone knew how it was going to end before the opening kickoff. The Vikings were almost a lock to be the third seed in the NFC playoffs; the Bears were ready for the offseason. Truthfully, Bears fans were paying more attention to the Colts-Texans game, as the Houston Texans’ win eventually gave Chicago the first pick in next spring’s draft.
There was little excitement in the Bears game. Justin Jefferson never approached Calvin Johnson’s record for receiving yards. Most of the starters’ days were over at halftime as Kevin O’Connell’s staff began looking forward to next week’s wild card matchup against the New York Giants. One can only hope Sunday was the calm before the storm. And hopefully, the Vikings bring the storm.
Still, the Vikings took care of business on Sunday, and that’s all any fan could ask for. Everyone left the game healthy, and they closed their season out with a 29-13 victory. For a team known for winning close games all season, their first and final games were both 16-point victories.
Here are five numbers that tell the story of the Vikings-Bears game.
5
Throughout the week of preparation, O’Connell made it clear that he wanted to rest players against the Bears. On Sunday, only five players played every snap on their side of the ball. The three players on offense were all linemen: Ed Ingram, Oli Udoh, and Chris Reed played all 71 possible snaps. On the defensive side of the ball, only Duke Shelley and Cam Bynum played all 50 snaps.
The plan made sense for the rookie offensive linemen. Ingram has struggled, and only so many players can dress on gameday. He played while Christian Darrisaw and Ezra Cleveland played 38 snaps each before sitting during the second half. Udoh and Reed are backups who have recently been thrust into the starting lineup. They all graded out well, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), as Ingram posted a 70.0 grade, Udoh with a 69.2 grade, and Reed churned out a 68.8 grade.
0
Minnesota’s offensive line not only passed the advanced metrics test, they passed the eye test, yielding no sacks all day. On top of that, the Bears only generated six total pressures and one quarterback hit. This came after Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens dropped back a combined 33 times.
The Vikings threw the ball a lot during the regular season, which isn’t going to change in the playoffs, either. Although it helped that they played a mostly unmotivated Bears squad, the fact that no one noticed any glaring issues regarding center-quarterback exchanges was encouraging. Pressure is ramping up this week, and the Vikings need Reed and Udoh to build on their performances against the Bears.
117
K.J. Osborn had the best statistical day of all skill players. He racked up 117 yards on five targets, including a 66-yard reception early in the game that was Minnesota’s longest pass play of the season. He was that productive on only 29 snaps because he also saw less playing time in the second half.
Osborn has eclipsed 100 yards receiving for the second time in the past month. With Justin Jefferson garnering most of the attention, the Vikings need someone else to complement him in the playoffs. Adam Thielen hasn’t even had 75 yards in a game this season. If Osborn can keep this up, he could essentially become the team’s WR2 in the playoffs.
141
The Bears trotted out quarterbacks Nathan Peterman and Tim Boyle on Sunday, and the results went as expected. They threw for only 141 yards on the Vikings’ defense, a unit that finished the season ranked 31st in the league. They didn’t even complete half their passes, finishing 13 of 27 with two interceptions to top it off.
Again, the Bears didn’t exactly have a ton to play for. But after the Vikings have allowed the likes of Mac Jones, Andy Dalton, and Mike White look like the second coming of Johnny Unitas, it was fair to be skeptical that Chicago’s passing game would be clamped down. Fortunately, Minnesota’s defense did its job and made bad quarterbacks look like bad quarterbacks on Sunday.
2/3
If there was one thing to spoil an otherwise stress-free game, it was the Vikings’ kicking woes showing up again. Greg Joseph connected on only two of three extra points on the day, missing his first kick after Thielen’s touchdown. It was his third consecutive missed kick dating back to last week’s game against the Green Bay Packers, who are frauds.
The only consistency with Joseph’s game is that he is streaky. He began the season by nailing his first six kicks. He then hit a stretch where he missed at least one kick in seven of the next nine games. Following that stretch, Joseph proceeded to make every kick over the next four games, including a 61-yarder to beat the Giants. Now it appears that he’s in a funk again. The question becomes, is he about to hit a hot streak? Or become just the next kicker to screw the Vikings in the playoffs?
