Five extra points: Vikings are lucky Bears are who we thought they were

Missing Justin Jefferson doesn't excuse the Vikings going 2-for-13 (15.4%) against the league's worst third-down defense. Chicago was allowing first downs at a 57.4% clip, a whopping 5 percentage points worse than any other team. Yet the Vikings started 0-for-2 and finished 0-for-6 while going three-and-out on four of six second-half possessions. A 3-yard completion on third-and-4? A strip sack on third-and-2? A K.J. Osborn drop of Kirk Cousins' poorly-thrown ball on third-and-5? A delay of game on third-and-12 at your own 3? T.J. Hockenson's holding penalty turning a conversion into a third-and-12? Un-accept-able. Feel fortunate the Bears are who we thought they were.

It certainly didn't resemble the power of Philadelphia's unstoppable "Brotherly Shove," but the Vikings' foray into the trendy "Tush Push" play did get the job done when 250-pound fullback C.J. Ham shoved Cousins 1 yard forward on fourth-and-1 from the Chicago 39 midway through the first quarter. That yard and three more turned what would have been a 57-yard field goal attempt or a punt into a 53-yarder that Greg Joseph made for a 3-0 lead. That's big in a slogfest. Ham had zero touches Sunday, but credit him for one of the team's measly three conversions on 15 cracks at third and fourth down.

Better than his game-clinching interception and game-high three pass defenses was Byron Murphy Jr.'s tight coverage of D.J. Moore in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 4 early in the second quarter. Justin Fields' primary weakness as a quarterback — not reading defenses quickly enough — was exacerbated by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' exotic pressure. Fields wanted to hit Moore in the end zone, bailed quickly because of Murphy's coverage and tried to run. Harrison Phillips and Jordan Hicks closed on him for no gain. The Bears settled for the field goal. Coming off a 230-yard game, Moore had two targets and one 7-yard catch at halftime.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy were too afraid of Flores to turn Fields loose the way they did the previous two weeks. Three snaps after the game's longest play from scrimmage — a 39-yard pass from Fields to Darnell Mooney — Getsy called a dive play on third-and-7 from the Vikings 38. It appeared the call was designed to simply not lose yardage for Cairo Santos, a big-legged kicker who hasn't missed this year. The conservative call gained 3 yards and set up a 53-yard field goal and a 6-6 tie. Throw out his 39-yarder, and Fields gained only 19 yards on his other nine pass attempts.

The Bears were missing their top two running backs. They changed centers in the second half. They lost right guard Nate Davis to an ankle injury when Danielle Hunter dropped Fields into Davis on a first-quarter sack. Yet Chicago still ran for 162 yards on 36 carries (4.5). Davis was replaced by 2022 seventh-round pick Ja'Tyre Carter. Five of the next six snaps were runs of 8, 17, 6, 11 and 12 yards to end the first quarter. The Bears finished that quarter with 78 yards rushing on 10 carries. The Vikings didn't have a carry longer than 8 yards all day and finished with 46 on 22 carries (2.1).

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.