Jordan Hicks' Two Takeaways Lead Vikings to 19-13 Road Win Over Bears
A win is a win, especially when it comes against a division rival.
It's hard to say the Vikings' offensive performance at Soldier Field on Sunday was worthy of a victory, but the defense forced three takeaways, which was enough for Minnesota to pick up its second win of the season on six tries. Jordan Hicks had an interception and a fumble return for a touchdown, Kirk Cousins connected with Jordan Addison for a score, and Byron Murphy Jr. saved the day with his first interception of the season as the Vikings beat the Bears 19-13 in an unsightly affair.
Bears QB Justin Fields struggled to get going as a passer and then got injured early in the second half, leaving undrafted rookie backup Tyson Bagent to try to mount a comeback. He actually threatened to pull it off, but an under-thrown ball on Murphy's late interception doomed Chicago.
The win brings the Vikings to 2-4 ahead of a tough home game against the 49ers on Monday Night Football next week. The Bears, meanwhile, fall to 1-5 and sit alone in the basement of the NFC North.
The first half of Sunday's game looked like a matchup between 1-4 teams, and that might be putting it nicely. There were dropped passes and turnovers and several servings of sloppy chaos. Both offenses struggled to get much going, trading field goals for most of the half to make it a 6-6 game late in the second quarter.
Driving into Chicago territory, the Vikings seemed poised to take the lead, but Cousins was hit as he threw and the Bears secured what was officially ruled as yet another lost fumble for Minnesota's offense. Fortunately for the Vikings, the Bears did nearly the exact same thing just three plays later. Danielle Hunter crashed through RB Darrynton Evans and hit Fields, whose pass floated into Hicks' arms for an interception. This time, the Vikings' offense was able to capitalize and score the game's first touchdown on a Cousins pass to Addison that completed a 77-yard drive.
Because it's the Vikings and it couldn't just be a normal touchdown, Greg Joseph had his extra point blocked, making it a 12-6 game at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Fields was tackled by Hunter and suffered a hand injury, knocking him out for the rest of the ballgame. That meant Bagent, who played his college football at D-II Shepherd University, was thrust into his first NFL action. On just his third play, Bagent had a true "welcome to the league" moment when he was stripped by Josh Metellus and watched as Hicks scooped up the fumble and took it 42 yards to the house for the Vikings' second defensive touchdown in the last three weeks.
That 19-6 lead was enough to hold up against Bagent and the Bears, although things got dicey for a moment. After a touchdown cut it to 19-13, the Bears got the ball back and were in Minnesota territory when Murphy's interception and a couple Alexander Mattison runs sealed the deal.
Despite going 2 of 13 on third down as an offense and being out-gained 275 to 220, the Vikings won the turnover battle for the first time all season and have some life as they head home to Minneapolis.
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