No matter how strong the Vikings may have appeared and how weak the Bears may have looked, when the Bears hosted the Vikings at Soldier Field, the outcome was always biased strongly in favour of the hosts. Since the 2000 NFL season, the Vikings had only won twice at Chicago, until yesterday. I didn’t get to watch this game, as Elizabeth and I were away for the weekend (but in an odd twist, Elizabeth watched a few minutes of the second quarter as the game was shown in the bistro in Trenton where we stopped for a late lunch).
1500ESPN‘s Judd Zulgad on the key differences between this year’s team and the Vikings who played the Bears last year at Soldier Field:
Want the biggest difference between the Vikings under rookie coach Mike Zimmer in 2014 and the Vikings under second-year coach Mike Zimmer in 2015?
All you have to do is look at what happened to Minnesota during their visit to Soldier Field last November, compared to what transpired on Sunday in the same stadium.
A year ago, the Vikings lost 21-13 in Chicago after Ryan Mundy intercepted Teddy Bridgewater’s 29-yard pass in the end zone in the closing minute.
The Vikings had to deal with clock issues that day and a clearly flustered Bridgewater became confused about how much time was left near the end. Bridgewater, a rookie at the time, threw for only 158 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the loss.
Bridgewater was far from spectacular Sunday – he threw for 187 yards with one touchdown and one interception – but there was one major difference. The Vikings departed Chicago with a 23-20 victory that extended Minnesota’s winning streak to three games and improved their record to 5-2. It also was the Vikings’ first victory at Soldier Field since 2007.
There was little that could be considered aesthetically pleasing about this game, but the guess here is that that concerns no one who works at Winter Park.
Brian Murphy for the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
Blair Walsh smiling like the Cheshire Cat and deflecting credit for nailing the 36-yard winning field goal as time expired, the 13th straight field goal he has converted — burying memories of his preseason slump under that left hash mark.
Receiving sensation Stefon Diggs coolly dispensing wisdom beyond his rookie status in a patterned sport coat and dapper black turtleneck.
And coach Mike Zimmer building up more straw men to knock down, lauding his team’s gumption in a second straight road victory that ended the Chicago skid.
“Just another thing to mark in our checkbook,” Zimmer said. “Can’t win in Chicago. Can’t win on the road. Can’t win two division games in a row. Can’t win in a temporary stadium. Keep coming up with them.”
Don’t look now but the Vikings are 5-2, undefeated against division foes and galvanized as true believers.
“It means the world,” Robison said. “It puts us 3-0 in the division. We’re able to win another one on the road, win in a hostile environment where we haven’t won in eight years.
“I can’t say enough good things about this team. This team continues to fight. No matter how bad things get, we’re in it till the end.”
A Picasso, it wasn’t. The Vikings left splatter and wayward brushstrokes all over the canvas. However, in a season trending toward something special, this might be the emotional touchstone the Vikings reference if they’re still playing in mid-to-late January.
Trailing by a touchdown with 1:49 remaining, second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater — erratic and irrelevant all afternoon — engineered a cool scoring drive to tie the game as Diggs turned a third-down conversion into another spectacular touchdown.
On Minnesota’s ensuing drive, Bridgewater aired out a 35-yard sideline completion to the forsaken Charles Johnson, who snatched the ball from peril to set the stage for Walsh’s heroics.
“Feels good,” Walsh said. “It’s only going to make this football team tougher. We’re going to be a better team because of this.”
