Matthew Coller: Vikings defense looked like themselves again vs. Bears

Chicago went 1-for-12 on third down against the Vikings on Monday night.

Dec 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum (24) celebrates after the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

MINNEAPOLIS — The definitive moment of Monday night’s 30-12 victory by the Minnesota Vikings over the Chicago Bears was rookie quarterback Caleb Williams sitting on the bench looking like he had just been hit by a freight train.

Williams was exhausted after spending the evening running around US Bank Stadium in terror from a Vikings defense that was looking for revenge after Chicago’s No. 1 overall pick came back against them a few weeks ago at Soldier Field. This time around he was sacked twice and threw under duress many more times. In total, Williams led Chicago’s offense to just 171 net yards passing and only gained three yards rushing.

“I just think that we were really disciplined, but it felt explosive,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Guys flying off the edges, and it's great being back at home and the crowd noise. Them being on the silent count allows our guys to get off on the rock, and when that thing is moving, it just felt like it was relentless. Felt the Flo did a nice job changing up some of the rush patterns and sending some different guys and just changing things up.”

In key moment after key moment, the defense closed off Chicago from mounting a comeback. The Bears opened the game by playing aggressively by going for a fourth down on their own 39-yard line. Jonathan Greenard and Jerry Tillery — two players who earned game balls from O’Connell — stuffed D’Andre Swift for no gain, giving the offense the football in scoring position right off the bat.

Greenard then strip-sacked Williams in Vikings territory on the next drive, ruining one of Chicago’s best chances to score all night. That turnover quickly turned into a two-score lead for the Vikings.

The following third or fourth downs went like this: Pass breakup by Harrison Smith, fourth down stop by Blake Cashman, pressured incompletion, red zone stop, conversion to Keenan Allen, QB hit by Jihad Ward to stop third-and-15.

After that, it was 27-6. In total Chicago finished 2-for-15 on their third or fourth down.

What was different this time around in containing Williams in the biggest moments?

“Correcting our mistakes,” safety Cam Bynum said. “We watched the film last time and he was out there looking like a magician so it was like, this time let’s not let him look like that. There wasn’t anything that changed, just everyone doing their job. Back end staying tight to receivers and make him hold the ball and keep him in the pocket as much as possible and pressure him. He still escaped a few times and made it tough on us but the front seven to do their job tonight.”

The Vikings offense needed some pick-me-up from the defense throughout the game. They came up short on a fourth down attempt in the red zone in the second quarter but O’Connell said that his trust for the defense was the reason he took the risk.

“A lot of that is just what I was seeing from the other side of the ball, defensively those guys were flying around,…on the headset, I'm going to go for it because of my faith in those guys, where we were, field position-wise,” O’Connell said.

While the Vikings had a 13-0 lead after two quarters, the offense’s sputters opened the door for the Bears with back-to-back punts to start the second half. Chicago picked up only three points in response, giving Sam Darnold and Co. a chance to produce a touchdown late in the third quarter to extend the lead to 17 points.

“We pride ourselves on trying to [take charge] regardless of field position and if they march down the field we hold them to a field goal — we see that as a win — and they didn’t score any touchdowns until the fourth quarter, that’s a win for us on defense,” Bynum said.

The Vikings defense needed this type of performance. Not that they had been bad in recent victories, but they were on the field for long periods of time in games against Arizona and Atlanta and allowed 395 or more yards in each of the last three weeks. The explosiveness of the defensive line, coverage and tackling looked more like what we saw earlier in the season when they ascended to the top of the NFL.

“I thought our defense was phenomenal,” O’Connell said. “Guys making some plays, play style showing up, and really overcoming some tough circumstances, and ultimately giving us some short fields early and then we were able to put together two longer drives in the second half to kind of put the game away.”

One thing that showed up versus the Bears that could help the Vikings down the stretch was depth players getting into the mix and making plays. In particular, rookie Dallas Turner had a very impressive sack in which he dipped past the tackle and took down Williams. Cornerback Fabian Moreau, role player Jalen Redmond, and newcomer Jamin Davis got into the mix as well. Depth will be important in keeping the defense fresh as they head into the postseason.

As the Vikings enter the final stretch of three games and battle for the top of the NFC, they will need more complete defensive performances like Monday night. All three opponents have top passers (assuming Geno Smith can play) and all three are jockeying for playoff position.

“This is the most wins that I’ve had in my career so it’s a great feeling but we have to understand that this is not it, we have to take care of business every time we get an opportunity,” Greenard said.

As a whole, the Vikings did not let the buzz of their playoff opportunity with a Lions loss cause them to lose focus on the task at hand on Monday night. In years past, the “letdown game” has been a real thing. But this group has avoided that this season, finding different ways to win on a weekly basis.

“Think back to last time [in 2022] and that Buffalo game that was the craziest game in NFL history and then the week after we were still hung up on that and we came here and got smacked by the Cowboys,” Bynum said. “For me personally, that was one of the biggest lessons I’ve had in my career. If you play well, you still have to go back and do the same process. I feel like we have a mature team so that’s not an issue but [2022] woke me up to the reality that you can’t get too high off a win.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES

— Brian O’Neill left the game after getting whipped in the leg but was able to come back on the field with his knee wrapped up.

“Got his knee evaluated there and ended up getting taped up and came back in the game,” O’Connell said. “We wanted to make sure he was okay to return, which he was, but as always, you come out of a game like this. We'll see how he does and turns over during the week. I'll keep you posted. Brian O'Neill once again just showing what he is all about going back in there and playing really good football.”

— Cris Carter and Jake Reed came out before the game with a Randy Moss jersey to show their support for Moss, who announced he is battling cancer. Justin Jefferson also wore a Moss jersey in his postgame press conference and said, “We love you Randy,” when he scored a touchdown.

“We talked internally this week about what we could do to show our support, our love for Randy,” O’Connell said. “Everybody knows former teammate of mine, but most importantly you can feel the love for him in this building tonight. It's great to have C.C. and J. Reed here to carry his jersey out there. It was a heck of a moment. I know Justin had -- when he scored his touchdown, I don't know exactly what he said, but I know it was showing his love for Randy.”

— Sam Darnold wasn’t as sharp as he has been in recent weeks with several passes flying over his intended targets early in the game. Overall he finished 24-for-40 with 5.8 yards per attempt, his lowest marks in both categories of the season.

“There was a couple of there that you just kind of noticed,” O’Connell said. “He set an incredibly high standard for himself, so I think everybody, me included sometimes, when either somebody is open or he's able to stride into one and doesn't throw an absolute strike, it's a pretty good standard to set for yourself when we're all kind of wondering what happened at that point. But I thought he battled. I thought he showed his athleticism again.”