The Vikings’ last game of the season was far from their most aesthetically pleasing effort but it was enough to get the job done against a seemingly less-than-motivated Chicago Bears team.
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With their season-ending home win against Chicago, the Vikings go to 1-5 on the season vs. the NFC North. Mike Zimmer and Teddy Bridgewater both get their first of what we hope will be many divisional wins.
Like I said, it wasn’t always pretty. The first half was about as listless as you could imagine, with neither team producing much in the way of offense.
Two field goals was all Chicago and Minnesota could put together in the first two quarters. The two teams went to the break tied at 3-3.
The action picked up a little bit in the second half. Minnesota got its first and only touchdown of the game when Adam Thielen beat bad coverage for a long TD reception from Teddy Bridgewater.
Thielen’s first TD reception in the NFL immediately went into the hands of his fiance in the stands.
Thielen’s brilliant day in front of family and friends at TCF Bank Stadium would include a touchdown saving tackle on a kick return.
In keeping with the theme of unsung players having huge days, Vikings linebacker Audie Cole also came up big. Pressed into service after a rash of injuries at linebacker, Cole was all over the field making tackles and breaking up passes.
With his huge day, which included an interception that got wiped out by an offsides call, Cole made a case to be in the mix for a starting job in 2015.
Matt Asiata also made a strong case for himself by putting together another good game, finishing with a season-high 91 yards.
The Vikings’ defense was good against a Bears offense that at times looked totally confused. Xavier Rhodes had another strong day matched up most of the time against Alshon Jeffery.
The best news for the Vikings is that once they got up on the Bears, they were able to finish off the game. Chicago did get the ball back with under two minutes to play and a chance to drive the field and tie it up, but the Vikings’ D came up big against Jay Cutler and the Bears, ending the game with a huge stand on fourth down.
Beating the Bears to claim third place in the division may not be the most incredible accomplishment ever but the Vikings will take it. After a tough grind of a season, the Vikings can go into the offseason knowing they have a head coach and quarterback in place, and a team of hard-nosed players who will battle to the end.