Vikings Starters Play One Half in Methodical 29-13 Win Over Bears
If you only watched the first and last games of the Vikings' 2022 regular season, you'd probably think it was a year full of straightforward multiple-score victories for a 13-win team that will host a playoff game next weekend.
That, of course, is not what went down. After opening the season with a 23-7 win over the Packers, the Vikings went on a wild rollercoaster run of 11 one-score wins and four double-digit losses. They won in crazy finish after crazy finish, including the game of the year in Buffalo and the biggest comeback in NFL history against the Colts.
But as a nice bookend, the Vikings picked up their second multi-score win of the season in Sunday's mostly meaningless finale against the Bears. Starters played the first half and backups finished things off in a 29-13 win that sent the Vikings to 13-4 and the Bears to 3-14. Chicago's loss, combined with a dramatic Texans win over the Colts, gives them the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft.
The Vikings wanted to win this game for a few reasons. One was to end the regular season with some positive momentum after a poor performance in Green Bay a week earlier. The other was to put some pressure on the 49ers. If San Francisco gets upset by the Cardinals — and it would be a shocking upset — the Vikings would move back into the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Minnesota's starters on both sides of the ball played in the first half, with the exception of Harrison Smith and Za'Darius Smith, who were inactive. Kirk Cousins came out and threw a 66-yard pass to K.J. Osborn on the Vikings' opening series, their longest passing play of the season. One play later, Adam Thielen's 55th career touchdown reception gave the Vikings a 6-0 lead (Greg Joseph missed an extra point for the first time in a while).
The Vikings got out to a 16-0 lead before a long Velus Jones Jr. touchdown run made it 16-6 at halftime. The lead at the break should've been bigger, but Cousins inexplicably threw a third-down checkdown with no timeouts left and the Vikings then had 12 men on the field on a rushed field goal attempt.
Cousins was otherwise sharp against the Bears' woeful defense, finishing 17 of 20 for 225 yards and a touchdown in one half of action. Osborn had five catches for 117 yards and Jefferson broke the 1,800-yard mark on the season with four catches. Defensively, Patrick Jones II picked up a sack and Patrick Peterson recorded the 34th interception of his career.
Most importantly, the Vikings didn't appear to pick up any major injuries. Dalvin Cook was shaken up in the first half, but returned to the game. Chandon Sullivan also had a bit of an injury scare in the second half, so we'll see if he's OK.
The second half felt like a preseason game. Alexander Mattison ran for his second touchdown of the day to put the Vikings up 23-6. With Mattison set to hit free agency in the offseason, it's possible this was his final regular season game with Minnesota. The Bears responded with a Cole Kmet touchdown and Greg Joseph added two field goals to wrap things up.
Nick Mullens played quarterback during the second half, going 11 of 13 for 116 yards and a pick. As an offense, the Vikings finished with 482 total yards. Young players like Kene Nwangwu, Jalen Nailor, and Ty Chandler got plenty of touches in the second half.
Tight end Irv Smith Jr., playing his first game since suffering a high-ankle sprain on October 30th, caught three passes in a tune-up for playoff action. He remained out there with the backups after halftime to get more reps.
With the clock winding down, Duke Shelley — one of the few starters who played the whole game — snagged his first career interception on a Tim Boyle pass. Doing so against the team that released him had to feel good. Shelley's teammates were extremely excited for him.
That's a wrap on the Vikings' regular season. Let the playoffs begin.
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