Caleb Williams probably knew it would be a long day when Jonathan Greenard strip-sacked him on the Chicago Bears’ second drive.
The Bears turned the ball over on downs on their first drive, which lasted four plays. Their second lasted eight. Greenard hit Williams on his blind side, and Blake Cashman scooped it up.
“I tell everybody that a strip sack is the best feeling in the world,” said Greenard. “Sorry to my wife.”
It was the perfect thing to say after the Minnesota Vikings’ 30-12 win on Monday Night Football. Dirty, nonsensical, and comical.
Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. So is beauty, but nobody will argue that Minnesota played a beautiful game against the Bears. Still, the 12-2 Vikings can win the NFC after the Buffalo Bills beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
“This is the most wins I’ve had in my career,” said Greenard. “So it’s a great feeling.”
The Vikings might feel great, but they won ugly. Or at least as ugly as a team can win a game by 18 points in primetime.
- Sam Darnold was 24 of 40 for 231 yards, with a touchdown and a pick (74.1 passer rating).
- Justin Jefferson finished with seven receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. However, he dropped a sure touchdown on a play where he was wide-open.
- Cam Robinson had four false starts and an illegal formation penalty.
“That’s the NFL,” said Darnold, who felt the Vikings stayed composed throughout the game. “Some nights aren’t going to go necessarily the way that you want.”
That’s a funny sentiment after a game the Vikings won soundly. Still, the Bears helped them where they could. In the first half, their four drives went:
- Turnover on downs
- Fumble
- Punt after five plays
- Turnover on downs
The Bears scored their first points on a field goal with 7:02 left in the third quarter. They had first-and-goal on that drive, but an illegal-man-downfield penalty nullified their touchdown. Chicago had second-and-goal at the one. However, Kiran Amegadjie was called for holding, and they never advanced the ball after that. They settled for the field goal.
Monday night was the first time since Week 15 of the 2017 season that they held their opponent scoreless without a third-down conversion in the first half of a game. The Bears had a three-play drive where they lost two yards. Justin Jefferson created four yards of separation on his touchdown catch, the most he’s had for a touchdown throw in the end zone in his career.
Minnesota didn’t let the Bears back in the game like they did in Chicago. The Bears didn’t contain Jefferson like in Week 12, and the offense still generated explosive plays. Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Jones, and Brandon Powell averaged over 10 yards per catch. Addison finished with a nine-yard average and drew a 30-yard defensive pass interference in the end zone.
However, the Vikings also had their fair share of errors. Chicago blocked a punt, Harrison Smith dropped a pick-six, and Jefferson let a touchdown slip through his fingers because he was looking at the end zone. Still, the game was never in doubt.
Knowing how much confidence anyone should have in this team against better opponents is tough. The Vikings head to Seattle next week and then have the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Win out, and they have the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Lose, and they leave their fate in another team’s hands. Nobody knows what happens after a game like this.
It was like Greenard’s strip-sack. The win looked ugly, but man, it must feel great.
