Vikings get victory, hope in season finale

As the fourth quarter ticked down Sunday and the Vikings eked out a 13-9 victory against the Chicago Bears in the season finale, the frigid fans at TCF Bank Stadium revealed their biggest reason for hope in full throat over and over and over again.

"Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!"

Never mind that the Vikings offense would have preferred silence.

"Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!"

Never mind that the Vikings couldn't pull away from the visitors.

"Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!"

Never mind that it was the defense that finally finished out a win.

Yes, a victory to end the season was nice. But for the Vikings and their fans, Sunday was not about the past or the present but about a future they hope will be very bright.

The 2014 season was doomed shortly after its onset, when running back Adrian Peterson's legal troubles left the Vikings without their best player. And it officially became a rebuilding season when they started 2-5.

But the Vikings believe they have laid the foundation for success under rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and first-year coach Mike Zimmer. And on Sunday, it sure sounded like the fans did, too.

"The more that we can win, I think it gives everybody [hope]," Zimmer said. "I think the way that Bridgewater played gives [fans] some hope. Hopefully they've liked how we compete. And we're definitely not perfect. We've got a long way to go, but there are some good positives to take out of things."

Bridgewater delivered another poised performance Sunday, giving folks something to cheer about on a 16-degree day. And thanks to Zimmer's defense keeping its opponents out of the end zone for the first time since the season opener, the Vikings were able to beat the Bears, finish 7-9 and avoid a second consecutive season in the NFC North basement.

After failing to close out tight games the previous two weeks, the Vikings finally finished in the fourth quarter, and ended the season on a high note.

Bears wide receiver Marc Mariani returned a fourth-quarter kickoff to the Vikings 35-yard line, but the defense held the Bears to a field goal that kept their lead at 13-9.

Bridgewater, with the help of his running backs, drove the Vikings deep into Bears territory. But when running back Matt Asiata was stuffed on back-to-back runs, the Vikings turned the ball over on downs at the Bears 3 with 2 minutes, 53 seconds left.

The Bears would only go 30 yards before the Vikings defense slammed the door, something it couldn't do in recent losses to the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins and a couple of other tough losses earlier in the season.

The Vikings held the Bears to 264 yards of offense, a week after they allowed a season-high 493 in a 37-35 loss to the Dolphins. And the nine points they allowed was their lowest since a 34-6 win over the St. Louis Rams in Week 1.

The Vikings, who allowed a league-high 30 points per game last season, shaved more than a touchdown off that under Zimmer, who won his first game against an NFC North opponent this season. They had one of the league's most improved defenses this season, finishing in the top half of the NFL in both yards and points allowed after Sunday's performance.

"[Zimmer] said he wants to keep this going, being able to win these games, finishing them out," defensive end Brian Robison said. "If we're able to play like the way we did today next year, I think the sky is the limit for this team."

The offense, as Zimmer put it, was "sporadic." But Bridgewater completed 17 of his 25 attempts for 209 yards and a 44-yard touchdown to wide receiver Adam Thielen, who was left wide open down the sideline when the Bears botched their coverage.

"As soon as I got the snap I peeked over there and saw that the corner and the safety had a miscommunication," said Bridgewater, 6-6 as a starter. "It was one of those deals where it was an easy throw. Just lay it out there and allow the guy to make a play."

It was the first receiving touchdown of Thielen's career.

It was Bridgewater's fifth consecutive game with a completion percentage of 68 or better. And his streak of 10 games with a touchdown pass is the franchise's longest since Daunte Culpepper a decade ago.

Bridgewater did throw an interception early in the third quarter when the score was tied at 3-3. His pass, which was thrown slightly behind Cordarrelle Patterson, deflected off the wide receiver's hands to Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller.

Fuller would have scored had Bridgewater not tripped up Fuller at the 9, and the Vikings defense did its job and limited the Bears to just a field goal there.

Bridgewater finished the season with just that lone tackle. But he also threw for 2,919 yards and 14 touchdowns. His completed 64.4 percent of his throws, giving him the third-highest completion percentage for a rookie in NFL history. His 85.2 passer rating was the best for a rookie in Vikings history and the seventh-highest for a rookie in NFL history.

No wonder the fans were loudly serenading Bridgewater — the 22-year-old they hope will be a savior in shoulder pads — on a day where the offense scored only 13 points and was 0-for-2 in the red zone.

During an adversity-filled season in which the Vikings lost the face of their franchise in Peterson, the organization might have found two new ones — in the baby-faced Bridge­water and Zimmer, with his playful smirks and rosy cheeks.

And while the Vikings fell well short of their goals with seven wins, the players believe that 2014 was the start of something bright, too.

"That's still not good enough for us," safety Harrison Smith said. "We want to be in conversations, competing for championships, in the playoffs, playing deeper than January. I think we're headed in the right direction. We just have to keep going."

Matt Vensel matt.vensel@startribune.com