MINNEAPOLIS, MN., — The Cardiac Bears strike again.
For the third-straight game, the Chicago Bears completed a comeback and earned a win, moving to 7-3 overall with the 19-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings. But it wasn't easy, again.
After Chicago held a 16-3 lead in the fourth quarter, Vikings' quarterback J.J. McCarthy found a rhythm and led two touchdown drives for the Vikings. That came after McCarthy had posted a quarterback rating of just 14 for the first three quarters. But like he did in Week 1, McCarthy was able to take advantage of sluggish play by the Bears, capping off the second scoring drive with a 15-yard pass to Jordan Addison for the 17-16 lead with 52 seconds left.
Then the Bears magic kicked in.
Devin Duvernay's 56-yard return set up the Bears at the Minnesota 40-yard line. A few plays later, Cairo Santos drilled a 48-yard field goal for the win, moving Chicago atop the NFC North going into Sunday night.
Things got off to a slow start for both teams as McCarthy and Caleb Williams struggled to move the football. Both defenses made things tough on the young quarterbacks, with Minnesota getting on the board first with a Will Reichard field goal in the first quarter. Chicago answered back with a Kyle Monangai one-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter and added a Santos 38-yard field goal after a McCarthy interception for a 10-3 halftime lead.
The Bears picked off McCarthy twice in the game but forced him into tough throws, impacting his accuracy. The quarterback wasn't able to move the ball down the field for the first three quarters and even so, Chicago was still settling for field goals rather than getting into the end zone.
That kept Minnesota in the game and allowed them to strike at the opportune time. Santos also missed a 47-yard field goal in the second half that would have given the Bears a 19-10 lead late.
Williams finished the game 16-of-32 for 193 yards and didn't commit a single turnover. He was sacked twice as Brian Flores dialed up pressure on over 75 percent of the possessions Chicago had. McCarthy finished 16-of-32 for 150 yards and two interceptions.
For Chicago, there are things to clean up, even with the win. But sitting at 7-3 and atop the NFC North is a great place to be through the first 10 games. They now return home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 at Soldier Field.
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