After an incredible weekend of NFL football, we could only hope that the Bears and Vikings would deliver the cherry on top to wrap up week one. This NFC North matchup had a lot of very intriguing storylines behind it. The long-awaited debut of hopeful franchise quarterback in JJ McCarthy for Minnesota, the Caleb Williams experiment in year two for the Bears, new head coach in Ben Johnson versus veteran Kevin O’Connell, Justin Jefferson’s health, there was so much surrounding last night’s game that we have been dying to see play out.
The game started slow with both defenses supplying pressure, especially the Vikings front-four who were speeding up Caleb Williams internal clock on seemingly every snap. That was an issue for the Bears a year ago with Williams who held onto the ball a few seconds too long, as he also had to deal with an inadequate offensive line in front of him. The Bears found the endzone first when the Vikings brought some of that pressure, forcing Williams to escape the pass rush and sprint into the endzone for the games first touchdown. A few field goals by either side including a last second, 59-yard bomb by Will Reichard would make it a 10-6 score at the half.
Things seemed to shift in the Bears direction early in the third quarter when Nahshon Wright would pick off McCarthy and take it 74-yards the other direction for a pick-six. Wright read McCarthy’s eyes the entire way and undercut the pass making a textbook defensive read for the score.
The third quarter would remain quiet, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, Bears kicker Cairo Santos would push a 50-yard field goal wide right to keep the game at 17-6. This is when the Vikings seemed to find a spark of momentum. McCarthy would lean on Justin Jefferson as Minnesota marched down the field and scored on a bullet pass from McCarthy to Jefferson for the Vikings first touchdown of the season. The Vikings failed on the two-point conversion to keep it a five-point, 17-12 ballgame, but the Vikings had found a rhythm late in the game.
More good defense by Minnesota would force a three-and-out, and the Vikings would get the ball back with outstanding field position. A pass-interference penalty on 3rd & 1 would award Minnesota with a free first down, and Minnesota would take advantage of it by scoring a touchdown through the air to Aaron Jones Jr. to give Minnesota a 20-17 lead after the successful two-point conversion was completed to Adam Thielen.
The pass-rush would continue to pester Caleb Williams as they forced yet another punt which was partially blocked by the Vikings special teams unit. With just under three minutes left in the game, JJ McCarthy would cap off a gorgeous drive with a touchdown run that put the Vikings out in front by ten and essentially put the game out of reach for the Bears. Chicago would score again, but there was simply not enough time as the Vikings held on and secured the first win of the season. Minnesota moves to 1-0 and the Bears move to 0-1. Minnesota will play in primetime again this weekend when they take on the Falcons at home, while the Bears will matchup with the Lions at noon on Sunday.
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